A.S.S.A.S.S.I.N

Chapter 1: The Return of Shadows

The forest was thick with fog, the kind that clung to the earth like a shroud, muffling the sounds of the nocturnal creatures that prowled through the underbrush. The trees loomed tall and ancient, their gnarled branches intertwined like the fingers of a thousand skeletal hands reaching for the night sky. The air was damp, heavy with the scent of pine and earth, and the silence was broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves underfoot.

Victoria—Tori, as she once had been known—moved through the forest with the ease of a predator. Her footsteps were silent, her breathing controlled, and her every movement calculated to avoid detection. She was no longer the girl who had left Beacon Hills all those years ago, heartbroken and confused. That girl was dead, replaced by someone colder, harder, and infinitely more dangerous.

Tori had spent years honing her skills in the shadowy corners of the world, training with mercenaries, assassins, and those who dealt in secrets and death. She had become a ghost, a wraith in the night who struck without warning and disappeared without a trace. Her reputation preceded her, whispered in fear by those who had reason to be afraid. And now, she was back in Beacon Hills, the town that had been both her home and the source of her deepest pain.

Her mission was clear: infiltrate the Hale pack, gather information on Derek, and when the time was right, dismantle everything he had built. It was a job like any other, or so she told herself. But even as she repeated the mantra in her mind, she knew it was a lie. This was different. This was personal.

She had known Derek Hale when they were both young, before the world had twisted them into who they were now. He had been her first love, and she had been his. They had burned bright and fast, a wildfire of passion and intensity that had left them both scorched and scarred. But something had happened—something Tori had never told anyone about—and she had fled Beacon Hills, leaving Derek behind without so much as a goodbye.

Tori's hand brushed against the hilt of the blade strapped to her thigh, a comforting reminder of the power she now wielded. She had been broken once, but she had rebuilt herself stronger than before. Now, she would face Derek Hale again, but this time, she was the one in control.

The Hale house came into view, a dark silhouette against the night sky. It was a place that had been destroyed and rebuilt more times than she could count, a symbol of the Hale family's resilience and determination. Tori paused at the edge of the clearing, her heart pounding in her chest. She had faced down monsters, men with guns, and creatures of the night, but nothing had prepared her for this moment.

For a long time, she simply stood there, staring at the house and remembering the last time she had seen Derek. He had been younger then, less guarded, with a smile that had once made her heart race. But that was before the fire, before the deaths, before everything had gone so horribly wrong.

Taking a deep breath, Tori steeled herself and stepped out of the shadows. She walked towards the house with purpose, every step bringing her closer to the man she had once loved and the mission she had been sent to complete. The wind picked up, swirling the fog around her like a cloak as she approached the front door.

Before she could reach it, the door swung open, and there he was. Derek Hale, older, harder, and more haunted than she remembered. His eyes, once so full of life, were now dark and stormy, filled with suspicion and pain. He didn't recognize her at first, but then his gaze locked onto hers, and she saw the flicker of recognition, the moment when the past came rushing back.

"Tori?" His voice was a low growl, filled with disbelief and something else—something that sent a shiver down her spine.

She had rehearsed this moment a thousand times in her mind, but now that it was here, the words she had prepared seemed to vanish. Instead, she fell back on the training that had been drilled into her.