Take On The World ◎ Scott McCall

Chapter 15: Oak Creek

She banged on the barrier, her eyes filled with anger. She tried an attack spell but something felt wrong when she did. "What the hell..." She muttered feeling weaker all of a sudden.

He stepped away with amusement in his dark gaze. "Oh? Did I forget to mention that any time you try using magic, the magic circle will siphon it and send it my way." He looked at his hand. "So, go right ahead and keep using all the spells you can think of. I'll just get stronger." He inhaled deeply, looking in the direction that the banshee had run off in. "Now, if you'll excuse me... I have a certain strawberry blonde to catch up to."

"Wait!" She called out, needing to delay him from catching up to her best friend. She still had no idea where they were. Imogen cursed under her breath and kept trying to break this barrier. Only to stop when she realized that the nogitsune had no way of creating this magic circle. Only a witch could make this. There was only one person who was capable of making it. A bitter look on her face, she muttered the name. "Sylvia."

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Ben glanced at the tablet he set up while he grated the cheese for the lasagna he was making for dinner. His eyes flickered to the clock and then at the door, worried about his best friend who had yet to call him back.

The sound of Zeus growling caught his attention and he set down the cheese, his whole body on alert. The small dog never growled at anyone so it definitely concerned him that someone might be trying to break in.

He slowly walked over where the dog was snarling and felt all the tension in his shoulders disappear when he saw Peter Hale sitting in the recliner. "What are you doing here?" He demanded, it had been years he had seen the man in front of him.

Peter stared at him with a blank expression. "How long were you planning on keeping Imogen being my daughter a secret?"

The blood drained from Ben's face as he stared at the man in horror. "You didn't tell her, right?"

"So she is my daughter." The Hale sat up, after realizing that Void had taken Lydia and Imogen, he chose to come here. He needed to be sure that the banshee wasn't just lying to him. It seemed that she hadn't lied to him at all. Imogen Lewis, the young witch was indeed his daughter. His gaze fell on the picture on the small table next to him and picked it up. The image of a young Imogen and a very beautiful woman standing behind her with a huge smile on her face made flashes of memories come to his mind. He still didn't know what to make of them. "Talia took a memory from me and Lydia was able to find out that I had a child. I'm guessing it was this woman, your sister." He set the frame back on the table.

Ben swallowed, this hadn't been part of the plan. Peter was never supposed to know about Imogen. "She shouldn't have told you. It wasn't her secret to tell."

"I deserved to know that I have a daughter!" Peter snapped at him harshly, standing up. "You've been here for more than a year and didn't tell me!"

The doctor straightened, giving him a passive look. "My sister made me promise that I would never tell you. Talia took your memory for a reason. Because let's face it Peter, you aren't exactly a good person." He reminded the older man who couldn't help but flinch at his words. "You almost killed a teenage boy last year and you killed your own niece. It wasn't hard keeping my sister's secret especially when I know that it's better that Imogen doesn't have you in her life as a parental figure."

"I may not be the most well liked person in Beacon Hills but, I never meant to actually kill Laura. Did I lure her here to Beacon Hills? Yes, I did. But I tried to get her to transfer her power over to me but she refused and I got angry. Before I realized what I'd done, she was already dead." He admitted.