REVENGE • Peter Hale

{22} What If

Denver's head was spinning. Her heart beat was heard in her ears as her thoughts ran at the speed of light through her mind.

The spiral. The symbol or revenge, the one so many werewolves seemed to be obsessed with, herself included. 'It could be anyone.' She tried to tell herself. 'No. Only someone hungry enough for power would kill a Hale Alpha", Derek and herself already realizing it was another wolf that had killed the girl as Derek's eyes were still their brilliant blue.

'Talia created that symbol to create unity among packs.' Denver told herself, though the most logical part of her brain fought against her. 'Only a few packs knew of this symbol. The packs that were allies of Talia, of the Hales. Before Gerard Argent struck.'

Who else knew? She knew the scents of the other packs, of their Alpha's unless leadership had changed, but there was no reason to be killing in Beacon Hills. No wrongs were committed against any packs besides the Hales.

Yes, Deucalion has lost his sight and part of his pack, Ennis losing a few of his own members as well, but it was nothing a little time a a few bites couldn't fix. She'd heard that everything had worked out in the end, what ever the hell that meant.

'Did someone make it out? Cora maybe? Sweet innocent Cora? Or could it have been a cousin? Blessed with the name but not the traits? Talia making sure the Hale names goes on with one last bite?' Denver thought. Could someone from their own family kill own of their own? Was it possible? Denver didn't think so. They were all so tight knit, even the ones who were completely human, never excluded, never punished for being different.

Denver's mind seemed to short circuit as she sat in her car. She didn't normally think about these things. About the what if and the would have beens, but if something like this was on the table, it had to be laid out. All hands on deck.

"What if-" Denver said to her self as she looked back to the hospital. Glancing to the clock, she had been sitting, stuck in her own thoughts for half an hour, she still had time.

Grabbing her purse, she headed to the doors finding Jessica again. "Jess!" "Hey, you change your mind?" "Yeah, plans got canceled." Denver said giving a small smile, "I haven't been in to see him for a few days, and I feel so bad."

"Denver you practically lived here the whole first year he was here. I think he would be happy you're living life again." "It's not the same without him." Denver told her and Jessica smiled sadly, rubbing the woman's arm. "He's had all his meds for the night, so he's all yours until visitor hours are through." Jessica told her and Denver smiled. "Thanks."

As the nurse walked out, Denver closed the door, quietly walking over to Peter as he laid in the bed. "Hi baby." She said softly as if not to scare him. "I'm sorry that I haven't been by more, but Derek and I have been up to our ears in problems, and we've hit a wall. I figured I'd come ask you." Denver said and she realized she sounded crazy, asking a coma patient to answer a question about the very thing that put them in the coma.

"You were in there longer than I was. Did you hear anything, see anything, anyone, that got out?" She asked but his eyes just stayed transfixed on her. "Please baby. I know, I know I'm asking a lot. Just the movement of your eyes a change of chemosignals, anything." She said and yet nothing changed. His eyes remained on her, his heart beat was calm and steady as it normally was when she was around, and his chemosignals just radiated love, affection, and curiosity. Nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing to rise suspicion.

"I know about the spirals." Denver whispered, but Peter picked up on it, his heart beat stuttering a bit, and that, Denver caught. "The spiral. It has something to do with the spiral?" Denver asked but Peter was back to normal. She had began to think she had dreamt the small blip, but then something hit her like a ton of bricks in the chest.

No.

No

No, it couldn't be.

Please, no......

Denver's heart rate picked up slightly as a new thought raced around her head, one she wasn't willing to even say out loud due to the lack of evidence she had, but the pieces fit, though the main component didn't.

"That spiral is the only thing we have that the hunters don't know about. I say we use it against them. Carve in into their very soul so they know what they've done." Peter's words echoed in Denver's ears.

It was silent until Denver grew the nerve to speak.

"I did something that you would be proud of." Denver said as she looked at her husband. Peter's eyes were trained on her, she could almost see the question of "what?" in his eyes. "I taunted the Argents. I made them feel the same way they made us feel before the fire. I want them to be on edge. I want them to jump at their own shadow, until their shadows turn to ash as I take everything away from them, like they did us." Denver told her husband and she could smell the worry coming off of him, but also the pride. He was proud of her.

The old Peter, that Peter would her proud of her as well, but would have been so angry, she would have gotten a ten hour lecture of how dangerous something like this was, but now all she got was worry and pride.

That one small test concluded all she needed to know. He still loved her, still cared for her, and would kill himself for her, but he cared about power more than family.

Fear washed over her for Derek. If he could do this, what would he do to his favorite nephew. Rubbing her hands together she then rubbed them on on the thighs of her pants, getting rid of the sweat as she leaned down next to his ear, grabbing his hand.

"I know." She whispered, Peter closing his eyes as his secret was out. Leaning back up, her eyes flashed blue, and his red, a tear slowly falling down her face. "Why, Peter? Why Laura?" She asked quietly as she laid her head on his chest, and though he couldn't move, a pain ripped across his chest. His mate was in pain, and he was the cause.

Tears of heartbreak and sadness soaked through the thin blankets that laid upon Peter's body, yet the hand that she had connected to his own still had black veins that traveled up her own arm and disappeared under the sleeve of her shirt.

He may have been alpha, but his body deceived him, allowing his mate to wallow in pain and for him not to do a damn thing about it.

A/N: She knows!!!!!!!