Epilogue: Face It

Bottling sun in an hourglass

Upside down but don't look back

Over and over

Taking on the wind because we never learn

Start a fire just to watch it burn

Over and Over

Kids, kids

Kids are gonna do what they want.

-KIDS, by Mikky Ekko

I wasn't supposed to wake up. It wasn't a plausible, or even a possible thing. Waking up meant that my energy transfer hadn't worked. And that meant...that meant that Stiles was dead.

My eyes shot open, my muscles trembling violently. I had tried my hardest to save him. If Stiles was dead...I didn't think that I could live with myself. I had endured so much, but that-that would end me once and for all.

Though my eyes were wide open, so wide that they burned, everything seemed so dull. I blinked up at the white ceiling, confusion and fear nailing me straight in the chest. I turned my head to the side slowly and took in the muted color of the sunlight pouring through the windows of the tiny room. I was lying on the cold metal table in the examination room of the animal clinic, wearing a flimsy hospital gown that smelled distantly of antiseptic. I frowned as sunlight fell across my face. It was odd-the colors were all wrong, like someone was making me stare through glasses that weren't prescribed to me.

My body was aching, and I was sure if I want to push myself into an upright position or not. Gathering my thick hair off the nape of my neck, I weakly sat up, hunching over as a little flicker of pain went through me. I ran my fingers along the examination table, surprised by the sharpness of it at the ends. Even the pointed corners of the examination table seemed less defined, almost a bit fuzzy around the edges. My stomach flopped. Could there be something wrong with my eyes?

I hopped off the table with unsteady legs, wincing as my bare feet connected with the tile below. The jolt sent flashing images through my mind: Liam stabbing Stiles, Deucalion ripping out his nephew's throat, Scott and Derek pounding on the barrier that I had put between them and Stiles and me as I gave the Stilinski boy my life. I pressed my shaking fingers to my temples, my eyes roaming around the dim room. They finally landed on an almost indistinguish but slightly familiar shape curled in one of the armchaird by the door.

It was Stiles.

All the breath in my lungs left in a second. Stiles was wrapped in a thin blanket, his knees pulled up to his chest. His arms rested on his knees, and his head was propped in the corner on his elbow. The boy's eyes were closed, and his mouth hung slightly ajar. The slight vibration of his throat was an indication that he was snoring, but...I couldn't hear it. Not at all. Fear coursed through me, and I had to lean against the examination table for support. What if I really was dead? Maybe that was why everything seemed so bland, why all of my senses were dulled.

Desperation clogged my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to grasp Stiles' emotions as he slept. He shifted to the side slightly, mumbling as he pulled his blanket closer to him. His emotions...I froze where I was standing, eyes opening slowly. I couldn't feel anything. It was almost like-like there was nothing for me to feel. That was impossible, though, because people couldn't block their emotions in their sleep. And I wasn't running into a mental barrier. It was as if I had wandered into a room that I had been expecting to be full...and there was nothing left.

A wave of dizziness washed over me. I didn't know much about spirits or how they worked, other than some half-baked legends Derek had told me when I was small. One of the most well-known of the stories was about a girl that had betrayed her lover, and when she had she, she'd been damned to walk the Earth for all eternity, seeing life but never truly being able to live it. Was that what I had been reduced? Some cursed spirit, an essence left forever to wander? I stumbled away from the table, my breathing shallow.

I had to wake Stiles up. I walked over to him slowly, my bare feet shuffling across the cold tile floor, and reached out a fearful hand. I nudged the boy gently and held my breath, afraid that he wouldn't wake. But Stiles jerked to attention, honey-brown eyes flying open immediately. There was a wild sort of fear in his expression, but it slowly dissolved when his eyes locked on me. Stiles' lips parted, and he swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Seraphina," he rasped, and in all of my life, I had never been happier to hear someone say my name.

He climbed to his feet, hands closing around my forearms. Not once did his eyes leave mine. His grip was solid, and it anchored me to where I stood. I inhaled deeply, feeling lightheaded. I was alive. Stiles was alive. He was holding on to me. And he wasn't going to let go.

Without warning, I threw my arms around Stiles' neck, holding on for dear life. I could smell spearmint on him still, but the scent was much more faint than I remembered. Stiles' arms immediately went around my waist, tightly pulling me to him. My heart was thrumming in my chest, desperately trying to break free of my ribcage. "You're okay," I choked, pulling back to look into his eyes. Stiles' caught my tears on the tip of his thumb. "Thank God you're okay."

Stiles looked at me with so emotion, and just the slightest bit of anger. I had risked everything for him. I had tried to sacrifice myself for him. "Sera, you saved me," he whispered, and the words sounded strangely like an accusation. "I would have died. I should have died-"

"Don't say that," I said fiercely, tears still sluicing down my cheeks. "If anyone should be standing here, it's you." A sigh escaped me. "I don't understand how I'm...here. Alive." My eyebrows drew together. "I-I gave you all of my energy. I gave yoy everything so that you would live."

Stiles dropped his gaze. There was pain etched across his face.

Panic coursed through me. "When I woke up, Stiles, I thought that I was dead." He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "Something is-something's wrong with me, Stiles. I can't read your emotions, or, or hear your heartbeat-" My breath caught in my throat. "Everything is so dull. It's like none of this is real. Like it's...it's just a dream, and I'm going to wake up and actually be dead. And then I'll lose you for real."

"Sera," Stiles murmured. There was a heaviness in his voice that I wasn't used to hearing. It weighed me down and scared me. "You're not dreaming. This is all-this is real." He finally opened his eyes. They were shining with unshed tears. And the reason why-everything is different to you now..."

I touched Stiles' cheek, and he rubbed his thumb down my own. "Stiles. What is-"

"You're not the scepter anymore, Sera," he whispered, breath hitching. "What you did-you healed me completely with your energy transfer. But you gave up so much...you broke the cycle." Stiles swallowed hard. "You're...you're human now, Sera."

Time slowed. I was staring at Stiles, and his words echoed eerily in my ears. You're human now. Human. I couldn't respond. All words had left me. The cycle had been broken. When I had saved Stiles, I had been meaning to give up my essence. But since I was the scepter, since I had more power than any other werewolf in history...the exchanged had stripped me of being a werwolf, not my life. The dull world around me made so much more sense now. I could no longer see the different shades of sunlight, the defined edges of corners; I couldn't hear Stiles' breathing or his heartbeat; I couldn't taste his emotions because I wasn't the scepter. I wasn't even a werewolf.

I was a human, truly and completely.

Stiles began to apologize profusely, clearly upset. Tears brimmed in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Sera. I didn't-you didn't have to try to save me, and I-"

I grabbed Stiles' face and pressed my lips to his as gently as I could. When I pulled away, the Stilinski boy gave me a destroyed look. I could tell that he had been beating himself up for this. That he felt like he had ruined everything. "I don't care about being human," I told him. Some part of me ached at saying those. Honestly, I felt like I had a gaping hole in my chest, like I was missing apart of myself. "I don't care because I expected to die, Stiles." I traced the moles on the side of his face with one of my index fingers. "This is more than I could ask for. More than I deserve. I get to live." My body was shaking. "I get to live and keep you," I said thickly. "We're both alive. And the cycle of the scepter has been broken. The Devereauxs and the Hales can finally be at peace with one another." I rested my forehead against his, reveling in his warmth. "Maybe this is what I born for. To end the cycle. To choose my own fate."

Stiles gave a strangled laugh. "After-after all of this, you still believe in fate?"

I placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Why? My words were breathy. "Don't you?"

Stiles wrapped me up in his arms again and murmured into my hair: "If you do, then I do. If you do...then I do."

We held on to each other for a long while, neither of us saying anything. But finally, I broke the silence. "You know I would do it again, right?" I pulled back and searched Stiles' caramel eyes. "I would do it again and again, if it meant saving you." One lone tear strayed down my cheek. "Again and again."

Stiles nodded, closing his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, he looked down at me with so much feeling that my breath caught in my throat. "Don't-don't freak out or anything," he murmured. "But I think...I think that I may be...may be passed the 'liking stage' with you," he confessed.

I gave him a watery smile. "That's supposed to scary me?"

Stiles gave me a sheepish look. "I'm sorry. It's weird to think about. I don't think-that I'm ready to say it differently yet. I just-"

"Hey." I placed one finger under Stiles' chin and made him look me in the eye. "Say it however you want to. Say it any way that you want." My fingers traced his lips. "I'll be here to hear all the different ways. I'm not going anywhere, because you know I feel the same for you."

Stiles kissed me then, and it didn't matter if he told me that he just liked me, or that his feelings were straying beyond liking me. It didn't matter because I was right there in his arms, and I knew how I felt about him. I knew that I was falling in love, and for right now, that was enough.

When Stiles finally pulled away from me, he was smiling softly. "Are you ready to go see the others? They've been waiting for you."

My stomach flopped, but I gave him a firm nod. I wanted to see my friends and my family.

Stiles took my hand in his own and pulled me to the door. As soon as Stiles pushed the door to the examination room open, everyone in the waiting room got incredibly quiet. All eyes were on me. Everyone was there: Scott, Allison, Isaac, Ophelia, Deaton, Tabitha, Derek, Viviane, and Lydia stared at me. The Sinclairs were the first to step forward, and I could tell that they had all been crying non-stop-their blood-shot eyes and worn expressions told me that. They all wrapped their arms around me simultaneously, even Ophelia, and the warmth that poured off of them, the love...I didn't need to be able to taste their emotions to feel it. It resonated through me as we cried together. Ophelia scolded me half-heartedly, but she was still crying too hard for it to have much effect. Viviane and Tabitha couldn't even form words, they were sobbing so hard.

Scott was next, and he wrapped me up in a brief but tight hug. "The true alpha." My words were soft. Scott pulled back and looked me in the eyes. "You deserve it, you know." Scott's smile was tender.

"That means a lot, coming from you. I want to thank you," Scott whispered into my ear, just for me to hear. "For saving Stiles. For saving all of us, Sera. This pack wouldn't be here without you."

That choked me up. Our pack, as odd and mismatched as it was, was my family. The people I would lay down my life for.

When Scott released me, it was Isaac who swept me up into a bone-crushing hug. He really was trying to be as gentle as possible, he told me, but he wasn't used to treating me like I was breakable. I told him that if he treated me like I was breakable, I would break him, and he gave a surprised laugh. "I wouldn't expect anything less," he murmured into my hair. Stiles watched Isaac closely, but there wasn't the same animosity between them that had been there before. They still didn't like each other, but maybe one day that would pass.

Deaton offered me a gentle pat on the shoulder as he came to stand beside Ophelia. The air between them wasn't as thick with tension as it had been before, and that made me happy. Giddy, almost. "Welcome back," Deaton said to me quietly, and the two words meant much more to me than anyone would ever know.

Allison and Lydia were next, and they both threw their arms around me simultaneously. Their grips were like steel around my neck, and I found myself hugging them back just as fiercely. "I-I told you not to do anything stupid," Lydia informed me, trying to sound snippy and failing. She was sniffling a little too much to be intimidating. Allison laughed shakily when I told Lydia that taking advice had never been my forte. "Here." Lydia pulled away from me and pushed a bag into my arms. "I bought these for you because I know how hideous hospital gowns are. They should be your size. Oh, and Allison helped," Lydia added as an after thought, and Allison tried not to roll her eyes. I looked inside the bag at the gauzy maroon maxi skirt and knit cream-colored sweater that Lydia had purchased, along with a pair of cute flats.

Buying me clothing was Lydia''s way of showing me that she was very happy that I was still alive, and I appreciated the gesture. "Thanks, Lydia. I'll definitely change into these in a second."

Lydia backed up, looking pleased as she gave me a tiny smile. Allison followed her and took a seat in one of the plastic chairs, looking exhausted.

I turned to the last person waiting to greet me. My brother. Derek looked so, so much like Dad in that instant, the way that he was staring intensely at me with his yellow-green eyes. He walked forward slowly, and my lips parted as I tried to find the words to apologize. I had almost made Derek watch me die. Almost made him lose someone else. Before I could say anything, Derek swept me up into his arms and held me close to him, breathing in my scent deeply. "You're an idiot," he told me thickly. Was Derek...was Derek crying? "You're an idiot for doing that. We thought...I thought you were dead. And then we got you here, and Deaton said you weren't healing, that you weren't the scepter anymore. That you were a human."

My heart thudded painfully in my chest. "Derek-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You know that I didn't-I wasn't trying to hurt you. And now I'm not a werewolf. I'm not...the same. So I understand if you...I mean-"

"Don't you dare say that. Don't you dare say that because you're a human, I'll love you any less," Derek growled. "It doesn't matter to me. You're still a Hale. You're still my sister." Derek looked my in the eye, his expression fierce. "You're still Serie. And that's all that matters."

I bit my lower lip and tried to slow my tears. But it was really no use. I held on to Derek for a long, long time after that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After everything had calmed down a bit, everyone explained what had happened between the time I had gone unconcious and the time I had woken up.

Ophelia had managed to heal Ethan and Aiden, and the two had thanked her sincerely. Or at least, as sincerely as the two could, Lydia had amended. They were staying somewhere in town, but no one was quite sure where. I still loathed the thought of them being around my pack, but I knew that they had tried to save Lydia. As far as redeeming qualities, theirs were pretty low on the list, but I knew that holding on to hatred, no matter how rightly placed it was sometimes, could destroy you. So I would try to be tolerate. I would try my absolute best.

And according to Scott and Derek, they had let Deucalion go. The man had been a fanatic obsessed with my power, and when they had told him that my powers were gone and he had no pack left, Deucalion had wilted. Derek and Scott banished him from Beacon Hills and threatened to kill him if he ever returned. Some part of me was proud of them for sparing Deucalion's life, and another part was worried by it. The leader of the alpha pack was unpredictable. It was hard to tell if he would try to seek revenge. But maybe now that Deucalion had his sight back, now that he could see any evil that he committed-maybe that would change him, somehow.

Not long after I woke up, Allison told me, in a very quiet voice, that she had talked to father. She had decided to change the Hunter's code, at the code that the Argents would follow. She murmured it to me in French, the words falling off her lips easily. Her mocha eyes were bright. "What does it mean?" I questioned.

"We protect those who cannot protect themselves." There was power that echoed in those words, and I smiled at Allison.

"You're changing things, making them. You're dad must be proud."

Allison's cheeks went pink. "Well, someone inspired me. So thank you for that." The Argent girl and I had exchanged another hug, and then we had parted ways, Allison going home to her dad.

I had changed into the clothes Lydia had given me by the time Stiles found me sitting outside the animal clinic, letting the cool fall air whip against my skin. "That symbol you drew, with the five-fold circle and the X through it..." He looked me dead in the eyes. "I know what it means now. It stood for each piece of what you were as the scepter. Your ability to see into the future, the past, and the present; the ability to taste people's emotions; the ability to see people's memories with just a touch; and the ability to manipulate energy like a Charm-Caster would." Stiles steepled his fingers and leaned close to me, caramel eyes glittering. "It was what made you the scepter. The scepter was past, present, and future. The embodiment of time itself."

I blinked at him slowly. "You're amazing. You know that?"

Stiles blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "Ah, thanks. I mean, when I really looked at it and all the lore on the scepter, it all made sense. It just clicked." Stiles tilted his head to the side. "But you don't have to worry about it anymore. You can just...live."

I gave him a tiny smile. I could. Finally. Though I would miss some things about being the scepter, the main thing I would miss was being a werewolf. I wasn't bitten; I was born a wolf. So stripping me of that-it was difficult, painful. A part of me had been ripped away, and I would never get it back. But time, I knew, healed even the most horrible wounds. They would never fade completely, but they could heal. They would heal.

"Stiles...can I see where-where he...?" I couldn't even finish. Just the thought made me wince, but I had to see the damage. Stiles gave a slow nod and lifted up his red plaid flannel ever so gently, revealing white marks where Liam's claws had pierced his chest. It was a perfectly healed. The only things left were scars. Memories. I touched the marks with trembling fingers, and Stiles careful let his own fingers push up the fabric of my sweater, probing the jagged white scar that stretched up my side, forever a reminder that I had survived. That I would continue to survive. Stiles and I let our finger intertwine after a moment, and we sat in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's presence and the light breeze that was blowing.

"I have to get home. My dad...he's dealing with Scott's dad right now, and I need to-"

I nodded. "It's fine, Stiles. Go be with your dad; I know you missed him."

Stiles kissed my forehead and climbed to his feet, tucking his hands into his jean pockets after a second. "Did I ever tell you that you're the most amazing girlfriend ever?" he chuckled.

I shook my head, smirking. "Hm, not that I can recall. But that's always a nice thing to hear."

Stiles was backing away, eyes still locked on me, when I called out his name. He raised his eyebrows and waited for me to speak. "Is Gia-is she okay? Is she home now?"

Stiles sighed. "Melissa is watching over her at the hospital. They, uh, had to stitch up some of her wounds, and she was severely dehydrated. So they're keeping her in the hospital for a few days. When Melissa brought her into the hospital, the Greenbergs were furious, y'know, because they thought that she was lying about finding Gia on the side of the road. And I mean, she was, but it's not like she could tell them that a psychotic werewolf/ Charm-Caster half-breed kidnapped and tortured her."

I swallowed hard. "She knows about the supernatural. Liam said..." I choked on his name. "...said that she knew before, right after Scott got turned, and she never said anything. And then...what I did to her, Stiles-I don't know if she'll ever forgive me for that. I almost destroyed her..."

Stiles shook his head and gave me a very serious look. "No, you didn't. Liam almost did. He was controlling you, using you. Sera, you can't blame yourself for that. You can't. Greenberg has to know that, too. She can do whatever she wants, but if she thinks that was your fault...She's wrong, okay?"

I gave a slow nod, pursing my lips. "Yeah. Okay." I knew that Liam had done awful things to the Greenberg girl, and I had almost killed her under his control. If she never forgave me, I wouldn't blame her. She had been pulled into something no one should ever have to live through. I just hoped that she came out of it alright.

Stiles told me goodbye a moment later, and I watched as the Jeep pulled out of the parking lot of the animal clinic, baby blue disappearing into the distance. Somewhere nearby, birds chirped in the trees, but the world was a whole lot less noisy than I was used to. Before, I would have been able to hear noises all throughout the town, but now, I was reduced to hearing just a few close sounds. I couldn't tell if I liked it or hated certain senses missing. Someone else came to sit beside me, nearly making me jump out of my skin. Derek. He gave me a questioning look, and I scowled for a half a second. I didn't hear him coming. I couldn't hear him coming, and I could've sworn he was taking advantge of that fact.

"I need to talk to you," Derek said gruffly, and my heart plummeted somewhere around my feet. Those words were never good, no matter who they were coming from.

"Okay," I answered cautiously, angling my body to face him. Derek was looking down at his hands, examing the tough, tan skin with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Sera, you know that Jennifer is a few towns over in a hotel, and now that it's safe...she can come back." Derek looked into the distance, eyes on the horizon. "But after everything that's happened, she doesn't want to. She wants to get away from this place. And I can't say I blame her." Derek's shoulders were tense.

"You're leaving," I said quietly, and as soon as the words left my mouth, I knew they were true. Derek's gaze locked on me then, all intensity and sadness.

"I have to. At least for now. I can't stay here after everything that's happened, Sera. I need time away." There was a pause. "But I want you to come with me." Derek's eyes took on a pleading look.

I stared at him in surprise. The whole entire reason I had come back to Beacon Hills was to make sure that Derek was safe, that he would be someday be alright after the death of our family. I had come back for him. But now, a year later, things had changed. I had built relationships, found myself again in the little town that was my first home. I hadn't been expecting to get so connected to the place again, but I had. Beacon Hills was my home, and I finally belonged. But Derek wanted me to go with him. My brother wanted me by his side.

But I-I was selfish. Because though I would miss Derek, I did not want to follow him out of this town. I did not want to say goodbye to my pack, not after everything we had been through together. It was true that Beacon Hills was centered around some of my worst memories. But it was also connected to some of my best memories, too.

I may have come back to Beacon Hills for Derek...but I was staying here for me.

"I can't go," I told him quietly. "Not now. I'm really sorry, Derek, but-"

"Don't apologize," he said sternly. His yellow-green eyes were bright. "If you want to stay, that's fine. Ophelia will be here, and so will the others. I'm not..." Derek gave a half-smile. "I'm not going to be gone forever, Sera. This isn't a goodbye."

"Better not be," I said with a little sniffle, pushing my dark hair out of my eyes. "Because we both really suck at those."

And then Derek and I laughed. It was the kind of laughter that came from deep within us and bubbled out. The kind of laughter that had lingered in my favorite memories. I would miss my brother, miss him with everything in me. But like he said...this wasn't goodbye. Not this time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ophelia told me the day after Derek left, a Sunday, that she and the girls would be staying in Beacon Hills for good. She planned to buy a house in one of the nice neighborhoods and enroll the girls in school with me. Viviane and Tabitha had loved the idea, loved the idea of being in a town that knew what they were and accepted them just the same. When I had asked Ophelia why she had chose to stay, she had simply said: "You.
" And though I was touched, I couldn't help but thinking that a certain vet had been apart of her decision, too. But when I had mentioned that fact to Ophelia, she had simply rolled her eyes and told me that I better straighten out my priorites before I moved back in with her. My heart swelled. I would be living with the Sinclairs again, and I could stay with them this time.

Because Derek was no longer living in the loft and I too planned to move out, Scott had offered Isaac a place at his own house. Isaac had accepted gratefully, and though I had apologized for essentially putting him out of his home, he had just smiled and told me that if he and I had continued to live together, alone, Stiles would have had a stroke. It was better this way. And maybe it was, but that didn't mean I wouldn't miss waking up in the mornings to the smell of Isaac burning pancakes to a crisp.

While my brother had left town, there seemed to be another new resident, and this one was far less welcome. Agent McCall insisted on trying to stick around to talk with Scott, but Scott...well, he's not really putting up with any of his dad's shit. Melissa and I had to cover our mouths to hide our laughter when Scott shut the door in his father's face later Sunday night, not even giving him the chance to speak. Some things couldn't be forgotten so easily. Agent Asswipe really needed to learn that.

I had been boxing stuff up in the loft when Scott had stopped by, a little furry creature nestled in his arms. "Someone's been dying to see you," he laughed.

"Bullet!" I gasped, holding out my arms. Scott placed the wriggling dog in them. Bullet showered my face in kisses and gave a few excited little yips. "Wait. Why is he-?"

"Deaton said you can have him, right?" Scott asked, tucking his hands into his jeans as he grinned at me. His chocolatey eyes were glittering. "He's all yours now, ready to go live in your new home."

I laughed as Bullet snuggled close under my chin, trying to stay as close to me as possible. "Thank you," I told Scott, giving him a half hug as Bullet squirmed between us.

Scott just nodded, running his hands through his dark hair as he eyed the mess that was my room. "Uh...need any help packing?"

I set Bullet down and pulled my dark hair up into a high ponytail, a grin on my face. "I thought you would never ask, Mr. Alpha. Us humans have a hard time lifting heavy things, I've come to find out."

Scott smiled at me, eyes crinkling around the corners. "You just found that out?"

"No judging! Being human is harder than it looks, okay?"

Scott just laughed and started to help me box up the things in my room. Bullet happily trotted around my feet for the rest of the evening.

And then...Monday. Time to go back to school, to jump back into my life. The night before, shortly after Scott and I had finished packing my things, Stiles had stopped by the lift and told me he had something to show me. We had drove out to the Preserve in the Jeep, stopping at the ruins of the Hale manor. I had been confused. Really confused. But then Stiles had led me out back to the spot where Boyd was buried, and my eyes had doubled in size. I had clapped my hands over my mouth and tried to fight back tears. Lined up in a straight row, there was a marker for each of my family memebers that had died. My mother and father, Amelia, Libby, Collin, Zach and Zoe, Laura. And beside them were the graves of Erica and Boyd. I had turned to Stiles, still crying, and thanked him, then threw my arms around his neck and held him close to me.

He knew that this was the kind of closure that I needed. He knew that I needed to lay my family to rest, once and for all.

And I have. They will forever remain in my heart, but they no longer haunt me. Not now.

I climb the steps of the school feeling content, and when I push open the doors, wearing the outfit that Lydia had bought me as a gift, I feel truly at peace. Scott and Stiles are standing in front of me, and Stiles claps one hand on Scott's chest. I look around. Allison and Lydia are standing at the lockers a few feet ahead of Scott and Stiles, and Aiden is beside them. Allison and Lydia both are giving him an unimpressed look, but he is still trying in vein to talk to them. Danny and Ethan pass by me, holding hands, and Ethan does not meet my gaze, though Danny does. He smiles brightly, and I return the gesture, pulling my bag up on my arms. When I look up again, I see Isaac walking down the stairs, close on Gia's heels. Her face is still mottled with bruises, but she looks a million times better than she did before. Isaac looks like he's trying to warn her to be careful going down the stairs, that she may hurt herself, but Gia simply gives a disgusted snort and keeps going.

Her eyes meet mine when she reaches the bottom of the stairs, and for a half a moment, I am afraid. But then she nods at me, twisting a dark strand of her hair around one finger as she mingles with the throngs of students in the hall. I let out a relieved sigh. It's better than nothing. Maybe, with time, I can fix our friendship. Isaac has been surrounded by my sisters now, and I can tell they're either bombarding him with questions of where their classes are, or they want to know if he'd consider dating them. By the exasperated look on Isaac's face, I guess that it's probably the latter one. My gaze trails back to Scott and Stiles. They're walking now, and I know that if I don't want to be left behind, I better catch up. I push my messenger bag further up on my shoulder and run-I don't know why I run, but I do-and then launch myself onto Stiles back.

The Stilinski boy stumbles and flails, yelping about how I should give him a warning before I try to kill him, but I pay him no mind. I'm laughing freely, and people are staring at us like we're crazy. Like I'm crazy. And maybe I am, because I've never been this happy in all of my life. I have never felt so free. Stiles adjusts his grip on my legs and totes me down the hallway, not complaining even as we continue to get stares and giggles from all of our peers. Even our friends are smirking now. Scott looks especially smug, as though he had personally arranged my relationship with Stiles himself.

I rest my forehead against Stiles back and let out a tiny laugh.

My life has always been a struggle. But I have fought and I've won, and that means I can go on struggling with the people I love the most, living through whatever this crazy town had to throw at us. Joseph Conrad once said: "Facing it, always facing it...that's the way to get through. Face it." And I am. Every day from now on, I will. There will be no more running away. I ran so far, for so long, and I'm done. Come what may, I'm facing everything head on.

And how exactly do I do that?

I look for them. My family, my friends.

My pack.

THE END

Thank you to all of those who have stuck with me. This is the end of Sera's story now, for real this time. What, did you REALLY think I would leave you with that cliffhanger? No, I'm not that evil. Not usually, at least. Anyway, thank you again to all that have reviewed, favorited, commented...Seraphina belongs to you, the readers. Without you, there would be no story. So thank you for that. I hope you'll stick around for the sequel, Mercy Me, which features Gia as the main character. Sera and Stiles will still be a huge part of the story, but its Gia's turn to shine. Thanks again! You're all truly lovely people. :)

-Harley