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[I MISS YOU, I'M SORRY]

2.01 || at least try not visibly recoil

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Aurelia had made a habit of avoiding the house now, mostly just holing herself up inside Peter's apartment. She'd stopped by the house to pick up the clothes and Sebastian hadn't even tried to act like he cared she was upset about Peter. He'd just gone on about how at least the 'Alpha threat' was over and how that meant the Argents should be moving on soon.

That second part didn't seem all that likely.

But the last thing she needed was Sebastian and his total lack of empathy making things worse so she'd just grabbed whatever she thought she'd need and gone back to Peter's. Aside from that interaction with her brother, Derek was the only person she'd seen or talked to since- well, just since. She didn't know why she hadn't had a barrage of text messages from Stiles, either good or bad, but she'd assumed Derek had told him to give her some space. She wasn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of having to go back to work on Monday but she had to do it sometime. Plus the last time they'd seen her, she just disappeared in the middle of the Winter Formal with no warning or notice.

And since Peter wasn't technically (legally) dead, she didn't even know how to explain it. Especially since she couldn't even use a grandparent as an excuse because Coach would see through that in a second. He didn't always pay attention but when her grandmother on her father's side died for the fifth time, he did finally catch on. Though she wasn't sure why it was that one that made him catch on because her grandfather had died seven and a half times. (The half being the time the paramedics declared him dead but he woke up suddenly. Which she knew was the biggest load of shit she'd ever come out with but he couldn't be permanently dead because she knew she needed him to die again a week later.)

Aurelia sighs, half focused on the knitting she was working on for Stiles' birthday but she was mostly just using it to pass the time until Derek got back. She wasn't even sure she knew what she was doing, she was just trusting her muscle memory. She didn't actually know where Derek was either because he'd just said he was going out and then disappeared before she had the chance to ask any more questions.

Which could only be bad because the last time Derek just disappeared for a couple hours without an explanation, he'd come back and told her he'd turned Jackson Whittemore of all people. And she understood he needed betas but she was pretty sure he could do better than that. She could randomly throw a dart blindfolded and hit a better target for Derek to make a beta. Especially since she had a feeling turning Jackson would in no way benefit them because he didn't care about having a pack, he just wanted the power boost so he could outdo Scott at lacrosse.

She glances over the back of the sofa when the front door swings open, watching Derek hang his jacket up, dropping his keys into the bowl beside him. "Where have you been?" She asks and he looks over at her.

"Scouring some recruitment options." He responds and she frowns incredulously.

"Couldn't have phrased that any weirder but I guess I'll roll with it. What recruitment options do you have?" Aurelia asks.

"I have a singular option." He says.

"Then it's not an option, it's an idea." Aurelia says as he rounds the sofa, lifting her feet to sit down.

"I was trying to track a rogue omega in town, followed him to the cemetery." Derek says.

"I don't think we should be adopting rogue omegas into the pack, Derek. Doesn't sound like a very good foundation, you know? An Alpha, a witch and a formerly rogue omega." Aurelia remarks.

"I was making sure he didn't hurt anyone, thank you." Derek responds pointedly and she shrugs a little as she looks back down at her knitting. "No, the option is this kid who was digging graves. I helped him out and ran through the pros, the cons, the risks, the rewards. Like you insisted."

"You can't go around turning people if they don't know what they're getting themselves into, Der. Especially since Kate's death is likely to draw Gerard here." Aurelia says and he nods.

"I know. I told him what he needed to know and told him to think about it. And where he could find me when he made up his mind." Derek explains and Aurelia hums.

"Where? Here? Because he's not gonna get past reception." Aurelia says.

"No, uh, found somewhere to use if we're gonna build a pack." Derek says.

"You're being vague. I'm not going to like it, am I?" She asks.

"You're gonna hate it." Derek responds and she nods a little with a sigh.

"Yeah. Okay. Did you at least get this prospective beta's name?" Aurelia asks.

"Isaac Lahey."

Aurelia hands still as she goes to wrap the wool around her needle, looking up at Derek with a frown. "Isaac Lahey?"

"Aurelia, how many teenagers do you know personally in this town?" Derek asks and Aurelia rolls her eyes impatiently.

"I dated his older brother in high school. Remember Camden?" She asks.

"Oh, that guy." Derek says.

"Well, you don't have to pull that face." She says at the slightly disgusted expression on his face.

"What face?"

"Like he's shit you just scraped off the bottom of your shoe." Aurelia retorts and Derek hesitates a little.

"I mean, he may as well be." Derek remarks after a moment.

"He's also dead, ease up." She says and he shrugs. "And I lost my virginity to that guy. Can you at least try not to visibly recoil when you hear his name?" She asks.

"He sucked." Derek says and she rolls her eyes.

"Yes, that's very mature. 'He sucked'. You got any more eloquent insults to hand?" She asks.

"He's basically equivalent to shit I scraped off the bottom of my shoe?" Derek offers.

"Well, that's just lazy." Aurelia remarks before sighing. "Isaac's gonna agree."

"What? How do you know that? Why?" Derek asks.

"Because of his dad." She says, looking over at him briefly. "I don't see him very much. I never babysat him like I did Stiles and Scott. I just kept an eye on him with Camden or if there was swim practice because Camden was on the team and their dad coached. So when I broke up with Camden, I never really saw him and then I saw him even less after Camden died. Plus their dad never really liked me. But I check in on him from time to time. His dad's hitting him but I can't get him to 'fess up or tell me anything. So, I haven't been able to do anything. He turns up with bruises or a black eye but he's also on the lacrosse team so, he just blames that. So, if you've offered him the bite, I don't think the risks are gonna deter him very much." Aurelia says.

"Well, I'd prefer he agreed for a different reason but at least he'll be able to heal and defend himself." Derek says and she nods a little. "You going to work tomorrow?" He asks and she nods a little.

"Yeah. I've run out of grandparents to kill." She says and Derek hums.

"How many grandparents have you killed? Only two are dead." Derek says.

"Three, actually. Richard's dad had a heart attack about two weeks after he died. But I've killed twelve and a half." Aurelia responds and Derek pauses as he looks over at her.

"No, you know what? I don't want to know."

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Aurelia walks into the school, heading straight for Coach's office, hoping he would have a stack of marking she could bury herself in all day to avoid dealing with anyone. "Lia!" She closes her eyes, sighing softly before turning towards his voice and he hesitates slightly as he walks over to her.

He could see the bags under her eyes from halfway down the hall. She didn't look like she'd slept at all over the weekend.

"Do you need something?" She asks once he's closer.

"I just wanted to- Are you okay?" Stiles asks, slightly hesitantly.

"I'm fine." She says.

"You don't have to-"

"Stiles, I'm not in the mood for this." She interjects.

"I know. I just wanted to say sorry." He says.

"What are you apologising for?" Aurelia asks and he falters slightly. "Are you sorry you all killed him or are you just sorry because you're being forced to face the consequences of your actions?" Aurelia asks.

"Lia," Stiles starts and she raises a brow, making him sigh, glancing down.

"Yeah, that's what I figured. Go to class, Stiles. I have work." Aurelia says and Stiles looks back up at her.

"I don't want to fight with you, Lia." He says.

"Well, three days ago you didn't trust me enough to drive you to the hospital. So, maybe you should re-evaluate your stance on the matter." Aurelia retorts and Stiles sighs softly. "Oh and you can tell Scott that Derek lied. Killing Peter never would have cured him. Because being a werewolf isn't a disease or a curse that needs curing. The sooner he gets used to that fact, the better off he'll be." She says.

"He- Why did he lie about that?" Stiles asks.

"Because he needed Scott's help finding Peter." Aurelia responds with a slight shrug.

"Why didn't you say anything before now?" Stiles asks.

"How did this suddenly become my fault?" She asks, slightly incredulously.

"No, I didn't mean that." Stiles says.

"I didn't know Derek had lied full stop, Stiles. Because nobody seems to tell me anything important. Which, I guess is because none of you trust me. So, that's that I suppose. Now go to class. I'm busy." Aurelia says, turning and walking away.

"Lia!" Stiles calls, rushing to follow her and she sighs, turning back to look at him. "Look, I know what the answer's probably going to be. But Scott and I checked on Lydia over the weekend and Lydia's bite wasn't healing. And I know Peter said 'if she didn't die' but she's been okay. And now she's missing and we need help. We don't know what we're doing. And the only example we have is Scott." Stiles says.

"When did you check on her? How long after?" She asks.

"Like that night." Stiles says.

"Can take longer than that to heal." Aurelia says.

"Yeah, but I was there with Del all weekend and nobody's said anything about her bite wound suddenly disappearing." Stiles says and Aurelia shrugs.

"Then she'll die or she's not a werewolf. Bite doesn't always make a werewolf. And if she's not a shifter, it might have just activated a latent family gene." Aurelia says and Stiles nods a little. "Can I go and do my job now or are you going to keep chasing after me?" She asks.

"Are- Are we okay right now?" He asks.

Aurelia stares at him for a moment, drumming her thumb against the strap of her bag. "Do you really want me to answer that?" She asks.

"Not anymore." He responds after a beat. "You understand why we did it, right?" He asks.

"I understand why you think it was right. I don't understand what was going through your head when you chose the how and I don't think I want to. But just know I wouldn't be so angry about what you did if it hadn't been for how you did it." Aurelia says.

"I don't-"

"I know you don't. That's the problem." She says before turning and continuing down the hall and this time, Stiles doesn't move to follow her, instead turning to meet back up with Scott and Delaney.

Both of them look up when Stiles approaches, Scott looking at him expectantly before asking, "Well, is she okay?"

"No. For one, I'm not totally sure she's slept since Friday." Stiles says as he sits down. "And I don't think it's helping that today's her Mom's birthday."

"Wait, that's today?" Scott asks and Stiles nods a little while Delaney frowns in confusion.

"What does she not get along with her Mom?" Delaney asks and they both look over at her.

"Well, she didn't really but definitely not now because she's dead." Stiles responds.

"She died when Lia was sixteen." Scott supplies.

"Oh, well then why would she be here?" Delaney asks.

"Because she's Lia. And she's stubborn." Stiles responds. "She's not helping us. Not that I blame her. She just said that if the bite activated a latent gene, Lydia might not be a shifter. But nothing that helps us find her."

"So, she might not be a werewolf?" Scott questions and Stiles shrugs.

"Lia doesn't seem to think so. Because the bite wasn't healing. She'll be something but not necessarily a werewolf." Stiles explains. "Oh and she wanted me to tell you that Derek lied about killing Peter curing you. Wouldn't have done anything. He just needed you to help him and he figured that was the easiest way."

"Explains why I never actually found anything to back it up." Delaney says and Stiles nods a little.

"What are we gonna do if Lia's not gonna help us?" Scott asks after a moment and Stiles shakes his head a little.

"I don't know."

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Aurelia sits at Coach's desk, idly flicking through the stack of papers sitting in the middle as he walks into the locker room, idly tapping the pen in her hand against the desk. "Let's go! I have an announcement! Gather 'round!" He calls. "Quicker! Danny, put a shirt on. Stilinski! That means you! Let's go, gather 'round!" Aurelia tilts her head a little before glancing at the other stack of papers on the desk before swapping it for the papers when she realises it was a stack of quizzes. "Listen up, police are asking for help on a missing child advisory. It's a sick girl, roaming around, totally naked." Coach announces as Aurelia rummages around on the desk looking for the rubric, rolling her eyes a little at the slight laughter from the locker room.

"Now, it's supposed to get below forty degrees tonight. I don't know about you, but the last time it was that cold and I was running around naked," Aurelia pauses a little, looking up at the wall opposite her with narrowed eyes. "I lost a testicle to exposure." She sighs, dropping her head to the desk with a soft thud. That was twice in four days she'd heard him talk about that. She was gonna start requesting emotional compensation. "Now, I don't want the same thing happening to some innocent girl. So police are organising search parties for tonight. Sign up, find the missing girl, you get an automatic 'A' in my class." Coach announces before walking back into the office.

"Where's the rubric for this quiz?" She asks.

"Why should I know?" Coach responds.

"It's your desk." Aurelia says incredulously.

"It'll be there somewhere." He says and she sighs before checking her phone when it buzzes as he walks back out of the room.

She frowns a little at the message from her brother before picking her phone up to call him instead of trying to text him back. "What do you mean?" She asks.

"I think we should go either now or tomorrow instead." Sebastian says and Aurelia frowns a little in confusion.

"We're both at work now. Why wouldn't we just go when we planned?" Aurelia asks and she hears Sebastian sigh.

"One second." He says. "Joe, I'll be back in five!" Aurelia drums her fingers against the desk slightly impatiently. "I was talking to Freya about it this morning and apparently it's Kate's funeral then." Sebastian says.

"Okay? You can still go to a cemetery when there's a funeral happening." Aurelia says.

"Yeah, but the Argents are going to be there." Sebastian says.

"Right? What's your point? There's also gonna be a ton of reporters, it's not like they're gonna shoot us in the middle of the cemetery in broad daylight in front of a ton of reporters." Aurelia says.

"I just think we should avoid being there at the same time." He says.

"Okay, whatever. You can do what you want. But I'm gonna go pick up some flowers after work and I'm going to the cemetery. You feel free to go whenever." Aurelia says.

"Aurelia, if Gerard turns up-"

"Who cares? He's like a hundred and he's also not stupid enough to try anything in front of a crowd of reporters." Aurelia says.

"Okay, well, I don't think he's quite that old." Sebastian says and Aurelia pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Look, Bash, I'm going. Either meet me there or don't. I really don't care at this point. I'm not letting the Argents scare me away from the goddamn cemetery." Aurelia says.

"I'm gonna go tomorrow." He says and she rolls her eyes.

"Fine by me." She hadn't really wanted to meet up with him to go anyway. She had a feeling he'd just end up pissing her off even more.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later." Sebastian says.

"Yeah, sure." She responds before hanging up and putting her phone down, looking over at the door to the locker room when someone knocks. "Yes?" She asks.

"This was stuck to the sign up sheet. Think I heard you ask about it." Danny says, stepping into the room to hand her a piece of paper.

"Oh, sounds about right. Thanks." She says, taking the rubric off him. "Quick question, murder's still illegal, right?"

"Last I checked." He responds.

"Damn, that's what I thought." She mutters, looking down at the stack of the quizzes and Danny nods a little before walking back out of the room.

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Aurelia frowns a little as she goes to check off the next question on the paper before looking up and towards the door. Why the hell was Derek at the school? And if he said it was for recruitment purposes, she was going to handcuff him to a radiator whenever she left him alone so he'd stop doing stupid shit. She sighs before putting the cap on the pen and pocketing it (just in case Coach came in for something so he didn't steal the pen, she learned from her mistakes) and getting up to go find him. She walks down the hall, glancing around briefly with a frown still plastered on her face as she tries to figure out where he is, only to walk straight into him. "Where the hell did you come from?" Aurelia asks incredulously as he grabs her arm to steady her.

"What are you doing?" Derek asks.

"Looking for you. What are you doing here?" Aurelia retorts and Derek glances around.

"Come on." He says before directing her down the hall with him. "I was checking on Jackson." He says quietly as they head for the exit and Aurelia frowns.

"Did you have to do it at school?" She asks incredulously as they walk out the front door.

"He's bleeding black." Derek says as the doors swing shut behind them.

"But you bit him days ago."

"I know."

"Well, if he were rejecting it, he would be dead by now. Like very dead." Aurelia says with a confused frown.

"Now we're on the same page." Derek says.

"Why can't anything ever be easy in this town? Like, just once I'd like something to occur as it should." Aurelia says and Derek sighs. "I mean, Jackson's rejecting the bite but is somehow still alive days after the fact. Lydia's alive and missing but not healing for whatever reason. Scott's just- Well, he's Scott. I guess he technically worked how he was supposed to. He just likes hunters a little too much." Aurelia says.

"Lydia's not healed?" Derek asks.

"Not according to Stiles." Aurelia responds and Derek frowns in confusion. "Yeah, that face is how I felt. I mean, like I told Stiles, she could have a latent supernatural gene that the bite is activating, so she's not a shifter. But I've never actually seen that happen to anyone. I've never even read about it happening to someone. It was just sort of proposed as a theory in a couple diaries I read from Peter's collection." Aurelia says with a shrug.

"Could she be immune?" Derek asks and Aurelia looks at him blandly.

"That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard you say." Aurelia says and he rolls his eyes.

"Oh, because it's so much less plausible than your idea." Derek retorts.

"Yes, actually. It's stupid compared to my idea." Aurelia retorts and he rolls his eyes at her again. "What are you doing? Searching for a brain? Because I'm not totally sure you'll find one."

"Oh, you're hilarious." Derek says.

"Thank you, I do try." Aurelia responds and he huffs. "Okay, I have to go back to work, you have to go before someone calls the cops on the adult man creeping around the high school. I will keep an eye on Jackson and Scott and Stiles and all three of the Argents. You fuck off and keep an eye out for that omega or Lydia or Gerard because apparently Kate's funeral is today. And I have to go to the cemetery after work. Alone. Because Bash is a pussy." Aurelia says.

"Do you want me to come with you? I can meet you here." Derek offers.

"No, it's okay. I'm only dropping off some flowers." She says. "Just call me if you need me, okay?" She says and he nods. "There's a phone in the uh, the kitchen. As you go in, directly opposite you, third drawer across to the right." She says and he frowns. "It was in case you were there and I was here." She admits and he rolls his eyes again. "Oh, that's three times. I'm gonna go back to work now." She says.

"Hey, your friend Nancy's a werewolf, right?" He asks and she frowns before nodding a little. "You got her phone number?" Derek asks.

"She is married."

"Yeah, not for that. Just the phone number." He says and she shrugs a little before pulling out her phone to find him the number as she fishes the pen out of her pocket.

"Hand." She instructs, gesturing with the one holding the pen and he sighs before offering her his hand. "Don't make that face, what did you think I was going to do?" Aurelia says as she writes the number down on his hand.

"Not that." He responds and she shrugs a little before turning her phone off and pocketing it.

"I have to go back to work now. I'll see you later." She says and he nods as she heads back into the school.

He'd already talked to Nancy once over the weekend when Aurelia had finally managed to get some sleep (even if it had only been for about an hour) but he hadn't actually thought to write her number down after they talked. He just knew she'd mentioned heading through to check on Aurelia in person.

He heads down to his car, pulling open the glovebox to grab the phone still in there before typing in Nancy's number. "Hello?" She asks.

"It's Derek." He says.

"Oh, right, hi. What's up? Is Aurelia okay?" She asks.

"She's- Well, I don't think she's worse. But look, today's her Mom's birthday and she was supposed to be going to the cemetery with Sebastian but he's bailed on her because Kate's funeral is at the same time." Derek says.

"I've never actually met Sebastian but I've never heard anything that makes me want to either." Nancy says. "But, uh, I am about two hours away. I'd probably be there but Jeremy was dragging his feet."

"You gave me no notice. I had to get time off work." He corrects.

"Yeah, yeah. Still took you three hours." Nancy retorts. "Anyway, if you're asking if I will meet her at the cemetery since I assume she told you not to go, we will. We're gonna get a hotel room in the next town over and then we'll head to the cemetery when she should be off work." Nancy says.

"Okay, thank you." Derek says and Nancy hums.

"Yeah, of course. Someone's gotta take care of her. God knows she won't do it." Nancy says.

"Stop being mean." Jeremy says.

"I'm not being mean. Aurelia is incapable of taking her own needs and feelings into consideration and you know that." Nancy retorts.

"I have to go. But thanks." Derek says.

"Yeah, sure." Nancy says before hanging up and Derek shakes his head briefly before tossing the phone back in the glovebox.

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Aurelia grabs the bouquet of lilies from the passenger seat as she climbs out of the car, pushing the door shut behind her. She walks towards the gate before frowning a little and turning around, pausing with a confused look when she sees Nancy and Jeremy. "What are you doing here?" Aurelia asks.

"Hey! Happy dead mom's birthday. I guess. Is that a thing." Nancy says.

"Oh, Jesus Christ, Nance." Jeremy says.

"That's not a thing but what are you doing here?" Aurelia asks.

"Well, I talked to Derek the other day. Told me what happened. Thinks you're gonna crash and burn but he doesn't know how to deal with you when you do that." Nancy says.

"That's not even remotely what he said." Jeremy says, shaking his head a little.

"Right, I'm gonna go in there now." Aurelia says, gesturing over her shoulder. "Yeah, I know. We're coming with you. And if we see an Argent and they come too close, I'm gonna hit 'em." Nancy says before walking past her and Aurelia frowns before looking at Jeremy.

"Yeah, I think she's serious about the second part." He says and Aurelia nods a little.

"You guys didn't have to come all the way down here. I'm okay." Aurelia says and Jeremy hums.

"You know, I understand if you're lying to say, Derek and your family. You don't have to lie to us." Jeremy says and she sighs. "You also don't have to talk about anything you don't want to. We're not here to pull information out of you, we're just making sure you're okay." Jeremy says and she nods a little. "Come on. Before she gets herself killed. She doesn't even know where she's going."

Aurelia and Jeremy catch up to Nancy and Aurelia turns her so she was facing the right direction. "They're over there." Aurelia says.

"I thought we were visiting your Mom's grave." Nancy says.

"We are. But my grandparents are buried by her." Aurelia says.

Aurelia directs her over to her mother's grave, crouching down a little to put the flowers down. "So, where's your brother?" Jeremy asks.

"Uh, he's coming tomorrow. He didn't want to be here while that was happening." Aurelia says, gesturing at where the reporters were gathered.

"That's Kate's funeral?" Nancy asks.

"Would assume so." Aurelia responds softly.

"Well, they're not getting a second of peace." Nancy says and Aurelia hums.

"I'm glad Kate's dead. Just wish it hadn't meant orphaning a kid in front of her." Aurelia says.

"Why do we care? They're hunters raising mini hunters." Nancy says.

"Nance, you remember the empathy thing we talked about?" Jeremy asks.

"I have empathy, thank you. Just not for hunters. They don't wanna die, maybe they shouldn't be homicidal maniacs." Nancy remarks.

"No, the thing is, I don't hate them all. I mean, I don't like any of them either. Well, I actually like Kate's daughter, ironically. She's amusing. Came to me and offered me an olive branch in the form of confirmation Kate kidnapped Derek and then immediately asked me about information she could use against me in the same breath." Aurelia says.

"Huh, I actually do think that's pretty amusing. I think I'd actually answer her just for having the audacity." Nancy remarks.

"I did answer her just for having the audacity." Aurelia says.

"Neither of you have any self-preservation instincts, do you?" Jeremy asks.

"We don't need 'em. A hunter couldn't outdo either of us." Nancy says and Aurelia hums softly. "So, are we just here to drop off flowers?" Nancy questions and Aurelia nods a little.

"Pretty much. And I'm just waiting to see if Gerard turns up. I'm actively listening for him but this seems like the most obvious way to find that out. If he's gonna turn up for anything, it'll be Kate's funeral." Aurelia says and Nancy nods a little.

"And then we kill him?" Nancy asks.

"In the middle of the cemetery? In front of the police and a horde of reporters? No, Nance." Aurelia responds and Jeremy chuckles softly at the disgruntled frown on Nancy's face.

"Okay, fine, I guess." Nancy says and Aurelia hums softly, watching Delaney and Nike rushing to discreetly claim the seats behind Allison. "So, how are you? Really. Because you look like you haven't slept in a month and decided that getting hit by a truck was better." Nancy says and Aurelia glances at her briefly.

"I'm fine." Aurelia says and Nancy hums. "What do you want from me, Nance? I put my entire life on hold for six years, waiting for him to wake up. He did and then he died. I'm as okay as I'm gonna be." She says.

"I'm sorry." Nancy says gently as she wraps an arm around the witch and Aurelia sighs softly before leaning into her side, resting her head on his shoulder.

Aurelia stares at her mother's grave with a slight frown and Nancy glances between the grave and the Argents. "Hey, why are we visiting your shitty mom's grave anyway?" Nancy asks.

"She wasn't always shitty. Plus, she was my Mom." Aurelia says and Nancy raises a brow.

"I have never heard you say one good thing she's done in the six years I've known you." Nancy retorts and Aurelia rolls her eyes.

"Doesn't mean she hasn't done anything good." Aurelia says and Nancy hums, staring at her. "I don't have an example in mind. I'm just sure she must have at some point. Before I was old enough to remember."

"I'm sure she did." Nancy responds.

"Nancy, don't bully her about her dead mother on said mother's birthday." Jeremy says.

"Okay, fine. God, you're so boring sometimes." Nancy complains and Aurelia rolls her eyes briefly.

Aurelia turns to look just past the reporters suddenly and Nancy and Jeremy both look over at her. "Are you okay?" Jeremy asks.

"That's Gerard." Aurelia says and both of them look over at where she was looking.

"Wait, that's Gerard Argent? He's like a hundred. He looks like a strong breeze would knock him over." Nancy says.

"Oh, you know what? I'm very glad this isn't our day to day life. Because you'd do something to invite the possibility of your own death every week." Jeremy remarks and Aurelia hums softly as Nancy frowns at her husband.

"Up yours." She responds and he rolls his eyes.

"Come on. We can go. Don't want to stand here any longer." Aurelia says.

"Oh, good. I hate cemeteries." Nancy says, turning to walk away when Aurelia shifts away from the grave.

The witch hesitates slightly as she goes to follow her before glancing over her shoulder, frowning slightly as she turns fully around to look at the figure standing in the treeline. "Aurelia, you okay?" Jeremy asks and Nancy stops turning to look at her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Aurelia says as she glances at him briefly before looking back at the treeline, relaxing a little when she doesn't see anyone standing there. "Totally fine. Let's go." Aurelia says, turning back around and walking past Nancy.

She's fully aware of the slightly confused and concerned looks the other two share behind her back. But she was pretty sure she was just sleep deprived because there was no other way to explain the fact that she thought she'd just seen Peter. She'd barely slept all weekend. She was definitely just sleep deprived.

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Aurelia frowns slightly when Derek walks out of the lift as she heads towards it, tilting her head a fraction. "Where you going?" She asks.

"Back out to look for that omega. Getting late." Derek says.

"Oh, well, I'll come with you." Aurelia says and he stops.

"Aurelia, I don't know if-"

"Gerard's back. You're not going out there looking for that omega alone when he's probably out there too. I'm not holing up in that goddamn apartment while you run around the woods after some random omega, Derek." Aurelia says and he sighs softly.

"I'll be fine. I'll keep an eye out for Gerard and any other hunters. I'm not going to risk my life trying to save the omega if he gets caught. Just head up, I'll be back soon." Derek says and Aurelia grabs his arm to stop him when he goes to head for the door again.

"Derek, you are not going out there without me. I can't let you go out there without me." She says.

"It's not safe. Less so for you. You don't heal like I do. Just go up, I won't be long and I'll be fine. I promise." Derek says.

"Since when do any of us care how safe it is?" She asks.

"Since I promised Peter I'd keep you safe." Derek says and she frowns, hesitating a little.

"When did you-"

"It doesn't matter. Will you just listen to me this once and go upstairs? Please?" Derek asks.

"Not when Gerard could be out there." She says and he sighs impatiently, running a hand over his face.

"Jesus Christ. Stay by me, okay? Don't wander off." Derek says and she looks at him impatiently.

"I know I'm not a werewolf, Derek. But I'm not six either." She says dryly and he rolls his eyes.

"I hate you." He complains and she shrugs gently.

"You brought this on yourself."

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Aurelia huffs softly in frustration as she trudges after Derek through the Preserve. She was starting to think she wasn't the only one seeing things because thus far, she'd yet to see any proof this alleged omega existed. "Hey, Derek?" Aurelia asks and he hums, glancing at her briefly. "Are we there yet?"

Derek immediately stops, turning to look at her impatiently and she shrugs a little as she looks at him expectantly. "I'm going to kill you." Derek says.

"That doesn't sound very much like keeping me safe." Aurelia remarks.

"Oh, my God." Derek mutters as he turns around and starts walking again.

Aurelia stuffs her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she follows Derek. She supposed it was moderately concerning that she thought she'd seen Peter when they were at the cemetery. But at the same time, she had barely slept all weekend and the little sleep she had managed to get was restless and interrupted by nightmares. So, a hallucination or two is probably to be expected.

She definitely wasn't going to tell anyone until it got worse. People were already walking on eggshells around her. Last thing she needed was to actively make it worse.

"Can you hear that? Sounds like Scott." Derek asks and she looks over at him with a frown.

"Derek. Normal hearing." Aurelia says.

"I meant telepathically." He responds.

"Oh, uh, yeah. He's looking for Lydia. He's been out here for a while." Aurelia responds.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Derek asks.

"Because he's looking for Lydia. That's not what we're doing. Didn't seem pertinent." Aurelia responds before pausing and Derek raises a brow.

"Argents?" He asks and she nods.

"He's chasing the omega and heading straight for them." Aurelia says.

"Okay, come on." Derek says before running in the direction she gestures in and she frowns a little.

"Gotta stop helping werewolves search for other werewolves out here." She grumbles under her breath before running after him.

She catches up to Derek just as he grabs Scott, dragging him back out of view behind a tree when he goes to follow the omega who was dangling from a tree. "What are you doing? I can help him!" Scott insists.

"They're already here." Derek responds quietly.

"I can help him!" Scott insists.

"No, you can't." Aurelia says quietly, watching as hunters step into the clearing.

"Aurelia?" Derek says quietly as she stares at the omega.

"That's what they did to my Mom." She says.

The only people she'd ever actually told exactly how it went down had been Talia and Peter. She'd gone straight to Talia after it had happened and she'd told her in a panicked fluster before she even made it into the house and then she'd never built up the nerve to tell any of her family exactly what happened. And then she'd told Peter a few years later when she'd been feeling particularly shitty on the anniversary of her Mom's death. She'd gone to Peter because even if Talia already knew, Peter was far better at talking her down from having a total meltdown than Talia had been.

"Aurelia," Derek starts quietly. "Aurelia, look at me." He says quietly and Aurelia's gaze lingers on the omega momentarily as Gerard steps into view before she looks over at Derek and Scott. "Just focus on me, okay?" Derek says and she nods a little before he turns his focus back on Scott.

Aurelia moves to the side slightly, breaking her line of sight with the clearing ahead of them as she tries to focus solely on Derek's thoughts and emotions. Which didn't really help because him being worried and stressed about her did not help stave off the impending breakdown.

She doesn't manage to block out the moment Gerard cuts the omega in half, partially because the sudden, sharp spike in pain was hard to miss but also because Derek makes Scott focus on it to prove a point. "Look. Look. Look at them! You see what they do? This is why you need me and Aurelia. Why we need each other. The only way to fight them is together." Derek insists.

"What are they doing?" Scott asks.

"Declaring war."

Aurelia glances over at Derek and Scott briefly to see them still facing the clearing. "Derek, did you just tell me to focus on me and then stare directly at them as it happened?" Aurelia asks incredulously and he looks over at her.

"Shit, I'm sorry." He says and she shakes her head a little.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Only severely traumatised by the situation." Aurelia responds quietly before glancing at Scott. "I think the police found Lydia. You can go home. Stay out of trouble." Aurelia says to him and he nods, opening his mouth to speak before hesitating a little and turning to move away from them.

"Come on. We should go home too." Derek says quietly.

"Can we wait and cut him down?" She asks and Derek looks over at her.

"Yeah, yeah, okay." He says gently as he squeezes her arm and she nods before shifting towards him slightly.

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"Derek, real quick. Why are we in an abandoned railway depot?" Aurelia asks, sitting in the door of one of the train cars as he paces.

"I was scouting out a couple places to start training betas when I found out about the omega. This seemed like it was where the Argents would be least likely to find us. So, this is where I told Isaac he could find me if he decided he wanted the bite. I figured we could wait here for a little while to see if he makes up his mind. Not for long." He says and she nods a little, resting her head against the metal pole behind her. "I didn't think sending them by the house would be the best idea."

"Probably not. If Freya's not in, Bash would probably hurt the situation more than he'd help." Aurelia responds and Derek nods briefly. "But this is really where you picked? Because we were right, I do hate it. With a passion." Aurelia says and Derek rolls his eyes. "So, why are you pacing? And nervous? Either he turns up and says yes, he turns up and says no or he doesn't turn up at all. Regardless of which, no harm, no foul." Aurelia says.

"We need a pack, Aurelia." He says. "It can't just be you and me. Especially if Gerard's in town." Derek says.

"You can say what you're really thinking, you know? I can hear it anyway. And you're not exactly wrong." Aurelia says and he looks over at her briefly. "You don't want to end up like Peter. Which is totally reasonable."

"I didn't-"

"Derek, it's fine." Aurelia says with a nod. "If you keep babying me, I'm gonna kick your ass. I'm fine." Aurelia says.

"You've barely slept in the last three days and you look like shit. I don't think those things usually constitute fine." Derek retorts.

"I've slept less and looked worse. It's fine." Aurelia responds.

"That's not the defence you seem to think it is." Derek says and she shrugs a little.

Aurelia idly picks at her nails as they wait around in the railway depot, glancing towards the stairs when she hears Isaac's thoughts, followed shortly by Derek looking up, likely at the sound of his footsteps or heartbeat.

Both of them look up at him as he reaches the bottom of the steps before pausing slightly when he looks over at Aurelia. "Aura?" He asks.

"Hey." She says lightly.

"You here to say yes?" Derek asks and Isaac looks over at him, already a little more relaxed after seeing Aurelia was here too. He'd been tense as hell as he started walking down those stairs.

"Yeah."

"Okay, Aurelia doesn't believe I did a sufficient job of warning you, so she's insisting on doing it again before you definitively agree." Derek says.

"You have no bedside manner and you suck at explaining things. Of course I have no faith in you doing this correctly." Aurelia retorts.

"I don't know, I felt pretty sufficiently warned." Isaac says and Derek hums, looking over at Aurelia.

"Did he tell you about me?" Aurelia asks and Isaac pauses before shaking his head. This time Aurelia hums, looking back over at Derek who just sighs.

"Okay, fine. But I still insist I did a good job of warning him." Derek says and Aurelia rolls her eyes.

"Come on. Sit." Aurelia says lightly before reaching forwards to pat the empty space in front of her and Isaac moves forwards almost immediately to sit down by her. "So, I assume he told you about the werewolf thing. I hope he showed-"

"Yes, I showed him." Derek interjects.

"You do that again and I'm gonna go out and invest in a spray bottle. And that's your only warning." Aurelia says and Derek rolls his eyes as she looks back at Isaac. "I'm a witch. Always have been. No, Camden never knew. I'm Derek's emissary, officially. Which is kind of like an advisor or like a pack overseer." Aurelia explains and Isaac nods a little. "So, there's a couple other teens in the know,"

"Scott and Stiles?" Isaac asks.

"They're amongst them. All the Argent girls, Jackson Whittemore unfortunately, Lydia Martin maybe but not necessarily. That's it as far as I'm aware unless they've all told someone else and not informed any of us, which honestly, is entirely possible." Aurelia says and Isaac nods a little. "So, werewolves, you get the strength, the speed, the stamina, the endurance, the healing. All that jazz. Plus glowing eyes, awful sideburns and fangs. The bite could always kill you instead of turning you, that's a possibility with everyone who is bitten. But you also get the looming threat of death. Especially right now because there's a hunter family in town. The Argent family, actually. And specifically, the Argent girls' Grandfather. Who is like on the wrong side of crazy. But you just have to know that for all the benefits, there's downsides that are equally as bad, if not worse." Aurelia says.

Isaac nods a little as she talks, glancing at Derek briefly to see him leaning against a pillar in the middle of the room. "Does he always just," Isaac gestures slightly at Derek and Aurelia hums softly.

"Yeah, but that's not a werewolf thing, it's just a him thing. He's miserable son of a bitch." Aurelia responds and Derek sighs.

"But I'll be able to heal and I'll be stronger?" Isaac asks and Aurelia looks back over at him before nodding gently. "Then I still want it." Isaac says.

"Okay, if you're sure." Aurelia says.

"Things can't get worse, right?" Isaac responds.

"You could die." Derek reiterates and Isaac glances at him briefly before looking back at Aurelia and she nods slightly.

"I know. And yes." Aurelia says softly and he nods a little.

"I still want it."

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