I'm Not Afraid || A Teen Wolf Fanfic

Chapter 21

She couldn't believe her eyes. After weeks of no contact and near disappearance, Derek stood before Skyler as though nothing had happened.

Probably because he wasn't there to see her, nor had he been expecting to find her in the boys' locker room after the match.

Derek cleared his throat as he broke his gaze from Skyler's, regaining his stoic composure. "We need to talk," he stated firmly.

"All of us," a man said as he appeared behind the alpha.

"Holy shit," Scott murmured under his breath. "What the hell is this?"

Skyler and Isaac exchanged confused glances. They had never seen that man before, but it seemed they were the only ones baffled by the new character. There was something odd and dangerous about him that much they could ascertain. But there was more to him. There always was.

"You know," Derek sighed. "I thought the same thing when I saw you talking to Gerard at the Sheriff's station."

"Okay, hold on. He threatened to kill my mom," Scott defended himself. "And I had to get close to him. What was I supposed to do?"

"I'm gonna go with Scott on this one," the mystery man agreed. "Have you seen his mom? She's gorgeous."

The devious line was met with a chorused "Shut up," but it still didn't explain who he was or what he was doing there with Derek.

"Hate to interrupt the amusing banter," Skyler interjected, "but who is this guy?"

"He's Peter," Scott said. "Derek's uncle. A little while back, he tried to kill us all, and then we set him on fire, and Derek slit his throat."

The words fell heavy upon the girl. Scott had told her about their run-in with the man, but he'd left a particular detail out. She knew he had terrorized Scott and the group; she knew he had perished in the fight, but she didn't know Derek had been the one to land the final blow. Yet, Peter was there. Alive and well, and seemingly unbothered by the fact that his nephew had murdered him.

"So, we got necromancers in Beacon Hills now?" Skyler blurted. "How is he alive?"

"Look, the short version is he knows how to stop Jackson and maybe how to save him."

"Well, that's very helpful," Isaac muttered, "but Jackson's dead."

"What?"

"Yeah," Scott answered Derek, "Jackson's dead. It just happened on the field."

"If I can put in my two cents here, I'm pretty sure something else is going on," Skyler declared. "Gerard wouldn't let his prize possession just die. It makes no sense."

"I'm afraid the girl is right," Peter said. "If Jackson is dead, it's because Gerard wanted it to happen."

Before the conversation could continue, Skyler's phone rang, startling everyone in the room. She quickly excused herself, noting her uncle's name lighting up her screen. It had been weeks since he had reached out to her. The family was at odds. That much was true. And it was almost certain that Allison had poisoned the well against her. But that wasn't a night to ignore calls or have petty arguments. They all had a common enemy, even if they didn't want to work together to stop him.

"Uncle Chris?" she asked as soon as the call connected. "Is everything okay?"

"You need to get here now," he whispered. "It's your friends."

"My friends? What are you talking about?"

"I don't have much time, Sky. Erica, Boyd, and Stiles are here," he said. "I need you to get them out of the basement while I distract dad. Your dad is already on his way here to help you, but we need you, too."