Scott and I were lying in his bed in his room at his house later that night.

I was gazing off, thinking about what he had said, and how I hadn't said anything, slightly guilty.

But it seemed like Scott didn't even remember saying it.

Scott's phone vibrating broke me out of my thoughts and woke Scott.

Scott picked up his phone.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's the alarm at the Animal Clinic," Scott told me. "I think it's a break in."

*****

Scott and I had gone to the clinic to see someone had broken in to steal Tracy's body.

Scott called Stiles.

"Scott?"

"Stiles, someone's taking the bodies. Stiles? You there?"

"Yeah. Um... where? What are you talking about?"

"I'm at the Animal Clinic with Tara. Tracy's body is gone. The lock on the door was broken from the outside. And my mom just tole me Lucas' body went missing from the morgue. They've been searching the whole hospital for it. Someone's stealing the bodies."

*****

Scott had come to the loft during the next day, showing me the book that Malia had found in Tracy's bedroom at her house about the Dread Doctors, the people in the masks being on the cover.

I read from the cover of the book. "The Dread Doctors by TR McCammon. Has anyone actually read it yet?"

"Just Malia," Scott answered. "I was thinking that we should all probably read it. Kira made copies. Stiles says he can't find anything on the author. He thinks it's a pen name."

I read from the back of the book. "'In a small New England town, teenagers are taken in the night and buried alive. Days later, they emerge transformed, wreaking havoc and spreading terror, commanded by an ancient order of parascientists known only as the Dread Doctors'. Sounds vaguely familiar. How does it end?"

"It doesn't," Scott answered. "This is supposed to be volume one."

"Oh, let me guess," I told him. "There is no volume two?"

"I think we're living volume two," Scott told me.

"Then maybe the real question is, 'Is this a novel, or someone's prediction'," I told him. Scott sighed, nodding in agreement. I turned around, pacing away, paging through the book. "You want me to read this?"

"Well, not yet," Scott answered. "I'm still only on chapter one."

I sighed, continuing to page through the book. "I've been thinking about who's taking the bodies. I don't think the Dread Doctors are taking them."

"What?" Scott asked. "Why?"

"Think about it," I told him. "They killed Tracy and walked away. They killed Lucas and walked away. Why would they leave and come back to take the bodies?"

Scott nodded in understanding. "Someone else has to be taking them."

"But the bodies aren't just bodies," I told him. "They're--They're failures."

"So if the Chimeras are all failures, what's the success going to be?" Scott asked.

"Bad," I answered. "Probably really bad." 

I reached the acknowledgement page in the book, stopping where I was, tensing instantly.

Scott noticed. "What? What's wrong?"

I turned to face Scott, walking closer, handing the book to Scott. "Look at this. Look at the 'Acknowledgements' page."

Scott took the book, reading aloud. "'For providing scientific perspective and invaluable insight, this book is dedicated to Dr. Gabriel Valack'." He looked at me in confusion. "Do you know him?"

"Yeah," I answered. "And I know where to find him."

Valack was Peter's old roommate at Eichen House.

*****

Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Kira were going to Eichen House.

Scott was getting ready to leave. "Look, I get that you don't want to come."

"Yeah, damn right I don't," I told him. "But it's mainly because of one person."

Scott nodded understandingly. "Peter."

"Even if he doesn't room with Valack anymore..." I trailed off, sighing. "I can't see him. Not after what happened. Not after he killed Laura, nearly got me, Derek and you killed..." I shook my head. "I just--I can't."

"I get it," Scott told me.

I sighed, shaking my head, looking away. "I never want to see him again. If I do, I don't know what will happen."

"You're worried he might do something to you?" Scott asked.

"No," I answered. "I'm worried about what I might to him." Scott looked down. I sighed. "Everything that has happened to me, I've gotten through. I became a stone cold bitch after the fire, but I'm only now getting to where..." I didn't finish, shaking my head. "Why should I let him ruin that, too? So while you guys go to Eichen, I'll be with Malia. Promised that I would help her. Found out I had a cousin, another family member. And I don't have many in that department. And I have you here. I couldn't just... walk away."

Scott nodded to himself, walking closer. "You sure you're okay?"

I hesitated, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be okay. Just as soon as I can forget all of that happened."

Scott looked down. "I, uh, I remember what I said at the club." I looked up, slightly surprised. "As usual, I realized what I did after and I felt like an idiot that I didn't realize it before..." I smiled a small smile. "But if you..."

"Oh, I remember," I answered. "Just..." I sighed. "As usual, my instinct as the old me was to push away. But if I remember correctly, I promised that I wouldn't. But I felt... bad for not saying anything."

"It's okay," Scott told me. "You don't have to say anything."

"Yeah, I do," I told him. "And I'm saying this now. After I thought long and hard about it, I realized something that I thought would be never possible for me. Not with the way that I was. I know that I said that I would never fall... but I did without realizing it." Scott was only slightly surprised, elated more than anything. "You made me realize that last night. Which is why I love the way that you slip up on stuff like that, because you make it better and easier on me." I stepped closer. "Which is also why... I love you."

Scott and I smiled. Scott put a hand on my cheek and back, pulling me into a kiss. I slowly wrapped arms around his neck, responding passionately. After what felt like forever, we pulled away, meeting gazes, smiling small smiles.

*****

Scott had left to go to Eichen.

Malia was sitting in the loft with me, looking around. "What happened to Derek?"

"Helping Argent and the Calaveras look for Kate, or helping Braedan try to find the Desert Wolf," I answered. "Take your pick. He likes to multitask."

"He's not the only one," Malia told me, pulling out a copy of the Dread Doctors book, looking through it.

"Page turner?" I asked.

"Not really," Malia answered.

"You finished it yet?" I asked.

"A chapter left," Malia answered. "You gonna read it?"

"I, uh, was gonna start reading it after Scott left," I told her, taking out a copy of the Dread Doctors book, opening it, starting to thumb through it, hiding a small smile.

Malia looked at me curiously. "What's that smell?"

"What smell?" I asked.

"From you," Malia answered. "Chemo signals."

"It's called phenylethylamine," I told her. "Or oxytocin."

"Well, whatever it is, I've never saw it coming from you," Malia told me. I looked at Malia, raising my eyebrows slightly. Malia sighed. "You know what I mean. It's just, like your..."

"Happy?" I finished. Malia nodded. "Yeah, it's not a common thing for me. Or, at least, it never used to be." I started to read the copy of the Dread Doctors book. Malia was smirking. I looked up, smirking slightly. "Shut up."

Malia smiled. "I didn't say anything."

I looked down, pressing my lips together slightly, reading the book.

*****

Malia and I were both reading the book.

I flipped to the next page.

It was her salvation.

As if she knew what Judy was thinking, Amy turned and hissed a challenge. Her jaw extended impossibly low, revealing rows of deadly fangs.

With a roar, Amy charged her friend. Judy swung the bat as hard as she could and connected with the side of Amy's head. The creature went down but was up again before Judy could react. In an instant the bat was out of her hands and clanging at her feet. Amy swiped her taloned hands ripping Judy's shirt and the skin beneath.

Judy cried out as she collapsed to the floor.

Before she knew it, Amy was on top of her, but not before Judy could get her foot up and under Amy's chest. Amy snarled and squirmed gnashing her teeth inches from Judy's face. With all of her might, Judy kicked as hard as she could sending Amy backwards against the concrete wall.

Amy righted herself, looked back to Judy and...

I flipped to the next page.

Crack! Judy smashed the bat across Amy's face. Amy hissed and continued to fight Judy, making her fall to the floor and roll away. Her chest rose and fell again and again as she sucked air into her lungs. As the adrenaline began to wear off, Judy felt her eyes sting with tears. She looked away from the twisted remains of the creature that was once her friend as a wail escaped her lips.

With a labored step, Judy turned toward the open door at the end of the walkway. Blood pounded in her ears every step of the way like the droning of a great cloud of bees.

She pushed the door open until it clanged against the outside wall. Nigh air filled her lungs and for the first time in weeks Judy felt like everything was going to be all right.

She stepped outside into the darkness and ran like hell.

I finished the book, tossing my copy onto the table between Malia and me, sighing. "Well, that's about all the reading that I can take for one night." I stood, walking toward the main table, picking up my jacket, turning to face Malia. "Come on."

"Where?" Malia asked.

"You said you wanted to learn how to drive," I told her. "From what you've shown me, you still have a long way to go. You could, uh, still use the practice." I pulled on my jacket, walking closer. "And I promised that I would help you. So..." I picked up the keys to my car. "Come on." I tossed them to Malia. Malia caught them. "Let's go for a drive."

Malia smirked.

*****

Malia was driving my car, the Camaro, down a deserted road, trying her hand placement different than the last time that we had driven.

"We can go a little faster," I told her.

"I'm doing the speed limit," Malia told me.

"I told you before," I told hr. "Nobody does the speed limit. And which one do you like better. 9:00 and 3:00 or 10:00 and 2:00?"

Malia slid her hands into the 10:00, 2:00 position. "I'm not sure."

Malia gazed off, seeming lost in thought, driving a lot faster now.

"Okay, I said a little faster," I told her. "Not Mach 5." I chuckled, looking away. "If you try to run us into another tree, I swear..." Malia didn't answer, gazing off, tense and intense, driving faster and faster. "Malia, you okay? Hey, slow down." Malia started to swerve over the road, making the tires screech. "Malia, stop! Stop the car. Stop the car!" Malia pulled us to a screeching stop, getting out of the car, running into the middle of the road. "Malia!" Malia fell to her knees in the middle of the road. "Malia!"

*****

Malia was kneeling in the middle of the road, breathing heavily, lost in thought.

I walked closer. "Malia? Malia?" I knelt next to Malia, trying to shake her out of the daze. "Malia?"

Instead of shaking Malia out of her trance, I was brought into one.

It was like I was back in the fire that had killed most of my family, in the basement, when I had been nine years old. It felt like I was trapped in the memory instead of just seeing it.

I could see younger version of me holding my cousin Lucy's body, her eyes glowing blue for the first time. She let the body go, crawling closer to Peter, the only one left alive.

Fire hurled toward Peter.

Peter grabbed the younger version of me, trying to put me in front of the flame.

The younger version of me pulled away forcefully, crying.

Peter was burned in the face, screaming in agony, falling to the floor.

The younger version of me was crying, pulling Peter toward the basement exit that led to the tunnels underneath the house.

I pulled out of the memory violently, realizing that Peter hadn't saved me like he had always led me to believe. He actually tried to use me as a shield and tried to have me killed. That I had rescued myself and him because I had had no idea what was going on back then.

I could still see light in front of me, but it wasn't from flame. It was from headlights from a car that driving right toward Malia and me.

"Malia," I told her. "Come up. Get up. Malia, come on, we gotta get up." I grabbed Malia, rolling out of traffic, pulling her with me. We both landed badly at the side of the road, groaning in pain. The car honked its horn, driving away, leaving. Malia and I were both breathing heavily, trying to come to terms with what we had both just seen. "Malia?"

"It was her," Malia told me.

"What?" I asked.

"It was her," Malia told me. "She was there."

"Who?" I asked.

"The Desert Wolf," Malia answered. "She was there at the accident... that killed my mother and my sister." She breathed heavily, sitting up. "She fired at the car. She caused the accident. She killed them. She made me turn into the coyote." I sat up, breathing heavily. Malia looked at me in confusion. "What did you see?"

I gazed off numbly. "The fire. Peter didn't save me. He tried to kill me."

Malia looked at me in confusion.

I looked away, staring into space numbly and expressionlessly, feeling the most cold as I had felt in a long time.

It didn't surprise me that Peter had tried to have me killed, even at that young of an age. It didn't even surprise me that he had lied about it for almost ten years.

It didn't surprise me that my memories had been corrupted by the fire and the trauma of watching my entire family die. I had only been nine years old.

What surprised me was that I finally remembered after all these years, because of some stupid book that had been supposed to make me remember the Dread Doctors.

But I didn't.