Laura

@scarredbyfire​

She weirdly felt content yet heartbroken and the only person she could think of was Laura. So, walking up to her door, she tiredly knocked on it and looked down at the two bags of food she brought with her. As the door open, Calla offered her a weak smile, eyes puffy, “I don’t want to be along and guys suck”

Laura wasn’t expecting company at her apartment, but hearing the knock on the door she answered, confused. “Of course, come in. What happened, sweetie? I just finished baking some cupcakes, we can have some while you tell me what’s up.” She frowned, heading to the kitchen 

“ you will i’m sure of it.” malia says with a beam, taking an optimistic approach. “ i’m excited to meet her then, and i’ve heard a lot of great things. so i’m really excited, and to get to know you too. it feels great to know i have more family.”

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“I wish there was more I could tell you and show you. But... I’ll do the best I can.” She said, smiling a little. It wasn’t just memories of the family that she’d lost that were hard to talk about... so much of her childhood revolved around Peter, that there were huge chunks of her memories that she was trying hard to forget. “We should get together and have dinner sometime. You, me, Derek and mom.”

Erica swore to herself that she wouldn’t go on social media, but meet up apps that was something else. While she, somewhat, looked for a job Erica spent most of her days inside the house. With nothing more to do than watch terrible day television. There was only so much of 2 minute of show time and 5 minutes worth of commercials she could take. The app didn’t give away any last names so she only knew the woman by Laura. 

The minute she walked into the diner she knew who Laura was. The resemblance was uncanny. “Oh yeah! I’m starving anyways so this works out. Get a meal and meet a new person.” Erica wasn’t sure if she should hug her or what. Instead Erica motioned for them to sit at the booth. The waitress was quick to come by and hand out the menus and glasses of water. “I think I was going to die if I spent another day cooped up in the house.” She took a sip from the water.

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“Works for me. I don’t have many friends in this town at the moment, I only got back recently. Found myself a job and caught up with family, and that’s been about it.” She admitted, handing over a menu for the other as she looked at her own. 

“Why were you cooped up at home? No better offers?” She laughed, sipping her own water. It was nice to just be able to sit back, and get to know someone for once. 

“ i definitely didn’t. and i can’t even imagine.. but you’ll also be able to make even more happy memories.” malia points out with even more of a smile, and she looked forward to getting to know laura more. “ that’s so cool ! i didn’t know that. there’s really nothing like it. and i haven’t met your mom yet, i don’t know if she even knows i’m here. but i’m excited to.”

“I hope so.” Laura smiled, faintly. It was hard to imagine making happy memories with her constantly looking over her shoulder. The presence of Peter in town used to fill her with excitement and happiness. Now it felt like a ticking clock, waiting for him to betray her and the family again. But it wasn’t as though she could say any of hat to Malia. “I’m sure Derek would have filled her in. You’ll love her, I don’t think there’s anyone that didn’t love or respect her.”

Rebekah sighed, of course Peter had told her what he’d done all those years ago. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you’ll come to learn that family can hurt you more than anyone else on this Earth.” The countless years she’d spent daggered in a box were evidence of that, “But at the end of it all, you can never escape them…no matter how hard you try.”

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“If you’re trying to tell me to forgive him? Put it all behind me and play happy families? Then you’re talking to the wrong person.” She rolled her eyes, pulling back a little from the other, pouring herself a larger drink. She’d stay sober, but the burn of the alcohol would comfort her at least. “He isn’t family, and he never will be again. The bastard has everyone wrapped around his little finger. It’s disgusting."

Laura had a ground-floor apartment in Derek’s building, wanting to be close enough to him that she could be there in a second - as well as annoying him whenever she wanted to - but at the same time, gave them both a little space. She didn’t want to make Allison feel uncomfortable when she was at his place, and she didn’t want him interrogating any guys she brought back to her place. But it meant that as soon as anyone arrived, she caught their scent. She was just leaving to go and grab some lunch when she caught a familiar scent entering the building. Rushing outside before she could miss it, she saw Cora, her heart welling.

“You’re home...” It was all she managed to say, staring at her, stunned. She was so grown up now.

Penny hadn’t a care in the world as she sat at the bar sipping on the ridiculously strong cocktail she’d compelled for herself. As soon as Lilith had made her shut off her humanity, being in public places wasn’t difficult anymore. The urge to kill wasn’t overpowering because she wasn’t trying to conceal it. If she wanted to, she’d slaughter everyone in the room right then and there. 

She watched on as Laura greeted her date, recognizing the guy’s face almost as quickly as she picked up the scent of the woman. It was the same as Derek’s, and though she didn’t care that the werewolf had just unknowingly started a conversation with a hunter, Penny didn’t want the hunter to prevail. 

Getting up, she marched over to the table and placed both her hands on it, leaning across Laura and staring into the hunter’s eyes. “Turn around, walk away and never kill again.” She compelled him, and he got to his feet and trundled away.

“You’re welcome,” she said snarkily as she sat in the now-free chair. “He was two courses away from putting wolfsbane in your sorbet.”

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Laura was about to start a conversation when she frowned, seeing Penny approaching the table. Before she had a chance to react, the guy was already on his feet, and leaving the building.

“What...?” She began, but as Penny sat down opposite her and explained, she rubbed her face. She’d thought Beacon Hills was supposed to have dealt with it’s hunter problem by now. She’d have to speak to Derek, give him the heads up. Even though she’d get an ‘I told you so’ from her little brother, the other wolf having had concern about Laura doing this in the first place.

“Great, turns out you can be dead a few years, and guys are still jerks.” She muttered. “Thanks, anyway. Maybe a little less of the attitude? I was gonna thank you anyway.” She hadn’t seen Penny like this the last time they’d spoken, but she hadn’t seen her around the past few weeks.

And now they’d arranged to meet at the diner, and she looked around anxiously from the booth in the corner, where she said she’d be. Seeing someone familiar coming over, she quickly stood up, smiling awkwardly.

“Hi, I’m Laura. But you knew that, I guess.” She chuckled. “Is this place okay? I figured we could meet somewhere casual.”

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞❟

she  was  talia  hale,  the  alpha  –  she  seemingly  knew  things  before  they  happened … but  did  she?  it  seemed  to  be  a  facade.  talia  had  never  wanted  to  be  one  though.  she  was  happy  for  peter  when  he  was  being  trained.  oh,  how  he  seemingly  soaked  up  the  attention!  oh,  how  it  never  seemed  to  be  enough.  talia  enjoyed … butterflies  and  riding  horses.  she’d  sneak  away  to  the  preserve  and  explore  the  things  there.  she’d  visit  the  swimming  holes  and  greet  townees  before  peter  was  even  done  with  his  training  for  the  day  and  that  wasn’t  even  before  noon.  when  she  was  indeed  the  alpha,  it  was  a  shock.  seemingly  a  loss  of  freedom  and  a  duty  bound  by  something  thicker  than  blood.  

talia  loved  her  children,  there  was  no  doubt  about  it.  her  changes  to  the  pack  came  before  them  knowing  well  enough  she’d  be  standing  here  one  way  or  another  at  some  point.  was  she  a  bad  alpha  for  changing  the  norms?  or  a  better  one … and  still,  looking  at  laura  she  can  remember  the  very  first  moment  she  held  her  as  a  baby.  she’s  reminded  of  dreams  she  had  of  her  long  before  her  birth.  parents  are  supposed  to  make  the  world  better  for  their  children  not  break  and  destroy  it.  talia  felt  guilty  for  being  the  one  to  keep  peter  around  when  the  pack  would  have  voted  him  out  for  being  a  failure.  a  dud.  some  thing  needing  a  factory  reset!  or  worse,  just  scrapped  entirely.  if  she  had  allowed  it … peter  wouldn’t  have  killed  her,  would  he?  because  she  did  what  was  nessecary  to  the  pack  and  the  threats  it  faced.  SORRY,  DAD.

“oh  heavens  no!”  talia  exclaimed  in  only  a  way  a  mother  could.  “if  you  had  been  there …”  well,  it’s  a  potential  world  talia  didn’t  want  to  fathom.  her  heart  had  broken  well  enough  knowing  her  fate  to  begin  with.  it’s  the  reason  talia  has  been  trying  to  break  her  alpha  spark  –  or  seperate  it  from  herself  even  at  the  risk  of  losing  her  life.  if  she  could  give  it  up,  or  give  it  away,  perhaps  peter  would  have  the  happiness  he  had  always  longed  for  and  taken  for  granted.  her  children  wouldn’t  be  threatened;  at  the  time,  that  being  child.  how  silly  of  her  to  wish  laura  wouldn’t  be  here,  trapped.  that  she  wished  cora  would  find  a  way  to  resist  the  pull  this  town  has  on  everyone  who  has  come  across  it.  she  remembered  the  night  of  the  fire  well  and  if  laura  had  been  there?  she  might  as  well  be  checked  into  eichen  house  with  no  chance  of  seeing  the  outside  world  again.  “i’m  glad  you  weren’t  there,  laura.  i’m  glad  you  got  to  live … and  have  the  chance  to  once  more.”  her  eyes  water  and  she  sniffles.  hands  move  to  laura’s  cheeks,  brushing  away  stray  hairs  so  she  can  see  her,  really  see  her. 

as  for  cora?  “let  her  while  she  can.”  you  can’t  tame  a  wolf,  not  truly.  taming  is  something  someone  does  themselves  rather  than  the  other  way  around.  “i’m  not  sure  derek  could  handle  the  both  of  you  under  the  same  roof  again  yet.”  it’s  the  mother  in  her,  remembering  damn  well  what  they  were  like  together.  even  if  it  hurt,  oh  it’s  physical  hurt,  this  longing  she  has  to  reunite  the  hales,  talia  knew  it  had  to  be  one  step  at  a time.  “are  you,  are  you  hungry? i  was  going  to  make  chocolate  chip  pancakes . .”

.

Laura didn’t want to hurt her mother further. Didn’t want to remind her that in the end it wouldn’t have mattered if she’d been in there. She died either way. It still stung, deep down, that after everything that Peter had lost, he was willing to lose one more, just for his own selfish reasons. That he could’ve filled them in on what he was doing. But he knew that she wouldn’t be the type of Alpha that would’ve just let him kill someone, even if they were guilty. No, if Laura had been faced with Kate Argent, she would’ve come close, but ultimately, she would see that she was locked away for life. That she’d have to live knowing that the Hale name continued on, despite her best efforts. 

And that never would’ve been good enough for Peter. He didn’t care what was for the best of everyone. He only cared about what was best for himself.

“I don’t know what I’ll do with this new life, but... I’ll try and make you proud, whatever it is.” She sniffed, pressing her forehead to her mother’s, tears falling from her own eyes. Being enveloped in her scent, much like she had been so many times growing up.... It was overwhelming, but in a good way.

“I don’t know, I’m sure Derek would love us teaming up against him. We can recruit his girlfriend and he’ll really lose his mind.” She snorted, smiling now. At the promise of chocolate chip pancakes, her eyes lit up. “I’ve missed your chocolate chip pancakes so much. I tried to make them with Derek, but the edges ended up burnt, and they tasted like cardboard.” 

Moving into the kitchen, there was still a lump in her throat. Something she had to ask. “... Have you seen him? Your brother?” No Uncle Peter, not even Peter. She wanted him completely disconnected from her, even if her family refused to.

Rebekah’s eyebrows pulled together when Laura mentioned them having an acquaintance in common. “Peter.” She repeated the name, as though that were explanation enough for the sudden shift in the other’s energy. “Former Uncle? What makes you say that?”

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Hearing his name, she looked away, sure that gave away enough of a clue that that was exactly who they were talking about. Hearing her confusion, she snorted out a laugh, shaking her head. “Surprised he didn’t tell you that little story. Figured it was the freaking origin story of the big bad wolf.” She rolled her eyes. “Former because you stop considering someone as family when they murder you for your Alpha spark, just because they can.”

“I didn’t seek it out, if that’s what you’re thinking. I went back to my hometown eventually, I found the ones who murdered my family coincidentally. Then I followed them and I took back the alpha spark. It wasn’t moral but..they murdered my family, I wanted revenge. But I didn’t originally seek it. The ones who killed my pack and stole the spark were risking exposure to the supernatural world and when I killed them it made things right in a way. Restored balance.”

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“I don’t know if I’d see it that way.” She shrugged, not sure what she would’ve done if it’d been a werewolf and not a human that had killed the family. Though she imagined she’d have done the opposite - moved on, tried to rebuild. Maybe it was a coward’s way of looking at things, and maybe that made her a wolf that Talia Hale shouldn’t be proud of. “Revenge only gets you so much. It doesn’t bring the people back. People forget that.”

“It was years ago, she was at home with my pack. I was studying abroad. I…woke up one day with this…really bad feeling. I felt wrong. I called home and found out they were all gone.” He shrugged, “It was years ago, in the past. Besides, it was made right in the end. Balance restored.”

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Laura nodded, listening to him. But hearing how he claimed balance was restored, she lowered her head. Wasn’t that what Peter was claiming to do by murdering her? “And I assume you were the one to restore the balance.” She said, nodding at his eyes. 

“ that’s the cutest thing i’ve ever heard, and i just can’t picture derek as a pumpkin.“ malia reaches out delicately unsure if she can, she hadn’t meant to bring up bad memories or the site of the house. “ i’m sorry, laura. i didn’t mean to bring it up..” there’s an excited nod of her head at the mention, and change of topic. “ i can ! it’s one of my favorite things, can you as well ? ”

Laura smiled, letting Malia take her hand, squeezing her own back gently. “It’s okay... I know you didn’t mean it maliciously. It’s just being back here, with so much time having passed, I can’t but think back to it all. But I know I’ll heal, eventually. They were happy memories. That’s the important thing.” She nodded to herself, making a mental note to seek out a photo if it existed. They could both do with the cheering up. Relaxing as she let her change the subject, she nodded. “Yes! I learnt to while I was preparing to take over as Alpha one day. I wanted to learn as soon as possible... Really, I just wanted to be like mom.” She smiled. “Have you met her yet?”

“Exactly that.” She stated bluntly, knowing full well what Laura had been insinuating with her carefully worded question. “I was drawn here.” Shifting her weight on the stool, Rebekah couldn’t help leaning forward on her hand propped up on her elbow, like a little kid interested in class. “I’m Rebekah.”

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“Ah.” Hearing the name, she nodded to herself, assuming this had to be the person that Derek had been telling her about - the one Peter had his eye on. She didn’t know whether to be wary of the woman, or dragging her as far away from him as she possibly could. “I see.” She murmured. “I believe we have a mutual acquaintance.” She straightened her shoulders a little. “My.... former uncle. Peter.”

malia’s grinning from ear to ear, just when she thought it couldn’t get any better. “ a pumpkin ? “ there’s laughter falling from her lips, now that she couldn’t imagine derek as a pumpkin. “ is there a photo of this ? i have to see it.”

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“He was only a baby! But he was the cutest pumpkin you’ll have ever seen, I can promise you.” She laughed. She bit her lip, shrugging a shoulder. “Honestly? I... don’t know. I don’t know how much mom kept in the vault and... how much was at... home.” She looked down. She hadn’t even been out to the site of the house. Didn’t think she could handle seeing nothing there. “So uh... Derek said you can full shift?”