Part 1 The Meeting It was Ryan’s first day on the site, working to fix the structural problems left behind by the previous, and seriously incompetent, architect. He was still very junior employee at the firm he had joined after graduating at Berkeley. It was a San Francisco company, which allowed him to stay close to the Cohens. Today he was meeting with the foreman of the construction crew, to get up to speed on what had been done so far and what could be done to fix the mess they were in....

Not long after Scott got bitten, fell in love, became a lacrosse superstar, and gained popularity, Stiles called him the ‘hot girl’. It had been a joke. It isn’t funny anymore. See… Everyone likes to think of themselves as the protagonists of their own story. If your life is a book then you’re the main character, right? Right? Stiles thinks that this should be true. Even if your life is mundane and boring, you’re still the main character....

Chapter 1 “I need to get out of this town. I need a break,” Stiles said. He was weary. Tired to his fucking bones. He figured if anyone understood this, it would be Derek. Derek just grunted. They were just sort of crashed out on Derek’s couch after yet another cluster fuck. Just them. Everyone else had gone home to do their thing (with each other or alone). Stiles’ dad was working a night shift and he didn’t want to be alone....

1 His chest is heaving and he feels panic clawing at his control. Everything inside of him is screaming at him to keep running. Derek hasn’t seen Kate since the day before the fire. Well, in person at least. He’s seen her in his nightmares often enough. That scene back in the burnt-out shell of his house could’ve been taken straight out of his nightmares. He can’t help but shudder at the things she’d said…...

Stiles was holding Derek’s hand as the walked to the nemeton. In the years since high school life in Beacon Hills had calmed down a lot. Part of it was a sudden shift in the nemeton’s… disposition? Stiles wasn’t quite sure how to characterise it but something had changed. Stiles’ own magic had become more refined and controlled as he’d learned and with the tattoos he now sported all over his body....

Stiles didn’t think he’d ever actually reach the tender age of eighty. Had been pretty convinced, at times, that he wouldn’t live until he graduated high school. Here he was, though, in his death bed. And, wow, that sounded so dramatic. But… he was dying. And in a bed. So… Derek was sitting off to the side and wasn’t that a surprise. He’d thought he and Scott would be the bromance of the ages....

Neighbours Derek remembers the first time he scented Stiles. The house down the lane had been empty for a while. As much as werewolves were known and there was peace between them and humans, most humans didn’t want to rent a house on pack lands. Or, really, to live in a wolf controlled territory. So Derek had been surprised to smell humans on the breeze. He was only seven and super curious so he followed his nose down the lane....

Stiles groaned as he answered his phone. He hated being pulled out of research! “Hello?” “Good evening, Stiles. Always a pleasure,” Peter drawled—how did he even get Stiles’ number?—“I feel it is my duty, as your most beloved packmate, to warn you that Derek’s gone feral and is heading in your direction. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Before Stiles could say or ask anything Peter hung up and, knowing him, the creepy wolf wouldn’t answer if Stiles called....

Stiles runs away on a perfectly ordinary day. He leaves a note for his father: I want to live. Sorry. It’s a perfectly ordinary day when Mischief returns to Beacon Hills. Mischief knows no one expected him to come to his dad’s funeral. He’s the kid who ran away. Broke his dad’s heart. The heartbreak is what really killed him, they say. He stands tall. Ignores the whispering. Doesn’t give a eulogy....

Peter knows himself. His vices and virtues (the few he has, anyway). He embraces being a predator. Enjoys stalking and hunting. He’s a master manipulator and few things bring him as much pleasure as seeing his plans come together. He’s watching his prey. This moment has been years in the making. Getting here had taken all his skill. The challenge of a lifetime. It would be the zenith of his genius!...