His hands slid down the barren expanse of her back, the trailing fingers leaving marks of fire. His warm lips attacked hers, melding into a passionate rhythm. One hand pulled her hips closer to him, the other dragging up to cup the back of her neck.
Ariel sighed happily, her body whirring with pleasure as Peter held her close. She gripped onto his hair, pulling him as close as human possible. Bare skin rubbed against bare skin, the soft flesh sliding against each other. They lay tangled in a mess of limbs and heavy breaths, jean clad legs wrapped around eachother.
"So beautiful." Peters throaty voice reverberated through Ariels head as he mumbled them into her neck. She closed her eyes with a happy sigh as he began to suck and sensitive flesh at the base of her neck. "All mine." His voice grew darker, more sinister.
Ariels eyes flew open. Claws dug into her hips, teeth grazed her jugular. Peter looked up slowly, his once blue eyes shining a blood red.
She looked down in horror. A crescent tattoo sat proudly on his chest. "No-" he laughed. A deep, cruel sneer that sent shivers through her body.
"Hello, my Luna."
Ariel sat up with a strangled scream, tearing her mind from the nightmare. Her room swirled swirled around her and she braced herself, waiting for the feeling of terror to fade. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it might break from her chest. A thin sheen of sweat covered her body, slicking underneath the robe she wore.
With a start, Ariel realized that she had fallen asleep after her shower. After Peter had dropped her off, she had locked herself in the bathroom for hours, trying to convince herself that she had hallucinated the tattoo. With a frown, she noted that it was dark outside. She had just reached for her phone to check the time when it was torn from her grip.
"What the- Derek??" Ariel screamed, jumping out of the bed angrily. The older werewolf stood somberly in front of her, her phone in her hand. He didn't say anything, instead raised an eyebrow at her disheveled appearance.
Blushing, Ariel pulled the hell of her robe lower. "What are you doing here?" She noted that he still, annoyingly, looked perfect, even after being on the run from cops for a week.
"You weren't picking up." She heard the judgement in his tone.
"Maybe because I was sleeping, Sherlock." Ariel snapped, grabbing the phone from his hands. Her eyes widened as she saw how late it was and the amount of missed calls she had. "I missed the game?"
"You missed a lot." Derek said noncommitingly. "Why did you wake up screaming?"
"I-" Ariel bit her lip, looking away. She didn't want to even know how long he had been in the room when she was sleeping. She debated whether or not to tell him about Peter. On one hand, she was worried for his safety. Last time Derek had suspected the alpha, he had nearly killed poor Dr Deaton. But Peter had been acting oddly and as much as she hated to admit it, it all added up. Ignoring the burning in her chest, she turned back to Derek. "I think I know who the alpha is."
"Took you long enough."
Ariels blood ran cold. She knew that voice. A shadowed figure stepped out from behind Derek. She had been so wrapped up in her dream that she hadn't noticed the third heartbeat, or the painfully familiar smell.
"Hello again, mate." Peter grinned. He looked older, his hair more haphazard. He wore a long black leather trenchcoat and Ariel shuddered as she noticed the tears and blood on it.
"No." She blinked back tears, backing away from him. "You can't be that- that murderer."
"Now, now, my dear." Peter spoke patronizingly, watching his mate gleefully. "You're hurting my feelings."
Dread seized Ariel, as if someone had just poured a bucket of ice cold water down her shirt. It all made sense. How he always seemed to find her. How she felt so attracted to him, yet how their conversations had carried little depth. How he had glowered at Chad and swore to murder Todd.
Peter started forward, hands outstretched. "Now, Ariel don't be like that." He reached out to brush a hand across her cheekbone.
"Don't touch me." Ariel choked, trying hard not to attack him. She was so angry, at him and at herself. How had she been so stupid? How had she let him control her and make her fall so hard for him?
"You weren't saying that before, sweetheart." Peter smiled lecherously. He looked on with unbidden glee as Ariels jaw ticked, as her smell of anger perforated the room. "I'll be doing much more than touching you soon enough."
Ariel attacked.
She leapt at him before Peter could move away, her outstretched claws grabbing at him. They dug deep into his face, leaving a bloody gash. Peter caught her, holding her arms close to her body.
Ariel struggled in his grip, but the alpha was too strong. He smiled cruelly at her, his teeth red as the blood flowed freely. She tried to ignore the sparks where he touched her, the painful tingling of her face exactly where she had cut him.
"Now, is that any way to treat your alpha?" He spoke patronizingly, his mates anger amusing him.
"You will never be my alpha." Ariel eyes glowed orange as she snarled.
"I will!" Peter lost his temper, shaking Ariel. "I am your alpha, I am your mate! You belong to me, you are mine! I will not have this insubordination!" Ariels head snapped back painfully as Peter jolted her back and forth. She bit down on her lip to keep in a groan of pain.
"Peter, you're hurting her." Derek spoke up from where he had retreated into the shadows. His face was unreadable, but his eyes held mirth as he stared at Peter.
"You!" Ariel pushed her mate off of her, rounding on Derek. "How can you be working with him?!? We trusted you! He killed your sister, he almost killed you!"
"No he didn't." Derek denied, not meeting her eyes.
"You betrayed us." Ariel shook her head angrily. She couldn't believe that he was with the alpha, that he had been helping that cruel bastard.
"Blood is thicker than water, my dear." Peter smiled serenely, flipping through a book that lay on her night stand.
"W- what?" Ariel choked. Her eyes picked up on the subtle similarities between the two, the same noses and high cheekbones. She suddenly felt sick.
"Derek didn't tell you?" Peter faked surprise. "I'm his dear uncle."
Ariel almost fainted. The comatose uncle Derek had fleetingly mentioned. The man who she had seen stand up months ago in the hospital, who she had been inexplicably drawn to.
"Now, Ariel, don't look so sad." Peter grinned, his fangs glistening. "We'll all be together soon. Even your brother. You will be the luna, they will be our betas. We'll all be family."
"No way in hell." Ariel straightened her back, staring at him with resolve. She would never let him win. She would never be his lackey.
The amusement in Peters eyes left. His face was hard as he walked forward. "Don't make any promises you can't keep." Ariel couldn't move. He reached out, sweeping her hair to the side and grazing his claws over the tattoo on her neck. "You'll come around. If you know what's good for you." His voice held threat, a collected sociopathic promise to make her his.
The sound of a car door slamming made Peter smile. He pulled his hand away from her, stepping back, and Ariel let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Your brother is here. Send him my regards." With a wink, Peter was gone.
Derek stopped by the window, looking back at Ariel. He paused as if to say something. His face was as stony as ever, yet his eyes held some emotion Ariel couldn't decipher. He opened his mouth slowly, thinking better of it when footsteps sounded on the stairs. Within a second he was out of the window and vanished into the night.
Scott slammed his sisters door open, smelling the lingering scents of the Hales. With a falling heart, he noticed Ariel. She had crumpled to the floor, tears flowing freely. "How was I so stupid?" She hiccuped. "I let him get so close to me. Oh god, there were so many signs! I-" Ariel broke off, unable to continue as more sobs wracked her body.
She felt as if her last shred of normalcy had been set ablaze. Peter had lied to her, fooled her. God, she was so stupid to have fallen for his lies. Ariel cried because she realized how paper thin beliefs and cognitive reality.
As Scott held her close on her bedroom floor, Ariel made herself a promise that she would see Peter Hale dead.