Chapter 16: The Fire's Truth - Part 1
The Hale house looks worse at night.
Shadows pool in the burned-out rooms. The smell of old smoke is stronger in the darkness. My Haki picks up Derek's presence before I see him—waiting in what used to be the living room, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
"You're late."
"Traffic."
"There's no traffic in Beacon Hills."
"Emotional traffic."
He doesn't smile. "What did you want to talk about?"
I take a breath. This is it. The moment I reveal information I shouldn't have. Information that will demand explanation.
"Kate Argent killed your family."
Derek goes still. His Haki signature spikes—rage, grief, and something that might be relief. Like hearing it out loud confirms what he's been afraid to believe.
"How do you know that?"
"I can sense things. Emotions. Intentions. Kate radiates cruelty. And I found patterns—she's always near fires, near supernatural deaths. It's not coincidence."
"That's not proof."
"But you already suspected."
Silence. Derek's jaw tightens. He turns away, staring at the charred walls.
"I was nineteen," he says quietly. "She was older. Beautiful. Interested in me." His hands curl into fists. "I thought she cared. I told her things—about my family, about werewolves, about the house. Where we kept the mountain ash. Where the exits were."
My Haki is drowning in his grief. It's overwhelming—layer upon layer of guilt and rage and self-hatred.
"Two days later, the house burned." His voice cracks. "My mom. My siblings. Everyone."
"Derek—"
"I led her to them. I gave her everything she needed." He turns to face me. His eyes are wet. "I killed my family."
"No. Kate did."
"I helped."
"You were manipulated. There's a difference."
"Is there?"
I step closer. "You were a kid. She was a predator. You didn't know what she was. You couldn't have."
"I should have."
"How? You saw someone who showed interest. Someone who made you feel special. That's not a crime. That's being human."
Derek shakes his head. "My uncle survived. Peter. He was in a coma for years. Burned so badly they couldn't even—" He stops. Breathes. "He woke up a year ago. But he's not the same. The trauma, the pain—it broke him."
Peter.
My meta-knowledge screams. Peter Hale. The Alpha. Broken and burning for revenge.
But I can't say it. Not yet. Not without proof.
"Why are you telling me this?" Derek asks. "What do you get out of it?"
"Scott's my friend. You're trying to protect him. Kate's a threat to both of you." I hesitate. "And I know what it's like to lose everything and have no one believe you."
It's the closest I've come to the truth. Derek doesn't know I'm talking about dying and waking up in a fictional universe. He thinks I'm talking about personal loss—maybe Adam's biological father.
But the emotion is real. The isolation. The grief. The weight of carrying secrets no one would believe.
Derek nods slowly. "The Alpha is connected to the fire. It has to be. Someone who survived. Someone with a grudge."
Peter. It's Peter.
The certainty is absolute. But how do I prove it without revealing I already know?
"We'll figure it out," I say.
"Will we?"
"We have to."
Derek studies me for a long moment. "You're different. Not just the healing. There's something else. Something that lets you sense things. Read people."
"Yeah."
"What are you?"
"Honestly? Still figuring that out."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I have."
He doesn't push. Maybe because he understands secrets. Understands the weight of information you can't share.
"Thank you," he says finally. "For telling me about Kate. For not letting me doubt myself."
"You were never the monster in that story, Derek. Kate was."
He looks away. "Sometimes I'm not sure there's a difference."
Driving home, my hands shake on the wheel.
Derek's grief was a tidal wave. Experiencing it through my Haki—feeling the depth of his guilt, his rage, his self-hatred—was like drowning.
I pull over on a side road and stumble out of the car. Lean against the hood. Dry heave until nothing comes up.
This is the cost.
My Haki doesn't just sense emotions. It absorbs them. Every intense encounter leaves an imprint. Derek's trauma is now part of me. Layered over Scott's fear, Kate's malice, the Alpha's rage.
I'm carrying everyone's pain. And it's breaking me.
But I can't stop. Because people need me. Scott needs me. Derek needs me.
Even if it destroys me.
I get back in the car and drive home.
Coach is asleep when I arrive. I tiptoe upstairs, collapse into bed fully clothed.
Derek's words echo: The Alpha is connected to the fire. Someone who survived.
Peter Hale. Comatose for years. Burned beyond recognition. Woke up broken and hungry for revenge.
It all fits. The pieces are there.
But how do I prove it without revealing I already know the answer?
Figure it out tomorrow.
Tonight, I'm too exhausted. Too drained from carrying Derek's grief on top of my own.
I close my eyes and hope sleep comes.
It doesn't.
Just the echo of Derek's voice: I killed my family.
And my response: No. Kate did.
But the truth is more complicated. Kate pulled the trigger. But Peter is the one still burning.
And he's coming for everyone.
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