PROLOGUE : bleeding

( formality )

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     IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO end like this.

     All Shannon wanted to do was find Lydia, and she couldn't even manage that. Instead, on the dark lacrosse field, she finds Peter Hale — the catatonic uncle of her kind of friend, Derek.

     Only now? He doesn't look all that catatonic.

     He's standing in the middle of the field without the assistance of his nurse, bright red eyes boring deep into her soul, and Shannon knows right at that moment — she's screwed. She doesn't even get a second to try to run before Peter has her on the ground, grass scratching against her bare back, his newly-extended fangs digging themselves into her arms, her waist, her thighs. He rips into her like he hadn't eaten in a month. Her screams die before they can make it out of her mouth.

     And then he pulls away.

     Weakly, Shannon wrenches her eyes open and twists her head in the direction that Peter is staring. Lydia Martin, in her pretty pink dress, stands by the bleachers, staring at the attack in a state of pure shock. The man gets back to his feet, rising to his full height, and steps over the bleeding blonde to set off towards the redhead.

     Although Lydia turns and tries to run, her speed is no match for the Alpha. In no time at all, he has her on the ground, and he drops to all fours to continue his assault on her flesh.

     Using all the strength left in her body, Shannon forces herself onto her stomach, desperately trying to ignore the pain radiating out in every direction from the bites taken out of her. She fixates her blurring vision on the Alpha Werewolf and tries to crawl to him, tries to shout out to him, tries to make him stop, but all that she can do is lie there as choked sobs leave her lips. Peter pays her no mind, flipping the tail of his coat out from the crook of his knees, only looking up when Stiles Stilinski, one of Shannon's best friends, runs onto the field. She can't keep her eyes open long enough to call out to him for help.

     It wasn't supposed to end like this.

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published: october 18, 2022
word count: 0.4k