In which my two year hiatus proves that my muse loves to take long naps.

Again, I'm fully aware the canon name for Sheriff Stilinski is Noah. However, I started this story before that was revealed (and I like the name John better). So for this series, I will continue to call him John.

Disclaimer: Crystal and the wolf whistle are mine. All recognizable characters and plot lines are not.

"Here you go, all done!"

John looked up in faint amusement at the ecstatic blonde. She dropped the small file of papers on his desk and sprawled in the chair opposite him.

He put aside his own paperwork and flipped through each page of Crystal's community service notes, reading them slowly. Normally this tactic worked much better on his son; Stiles could rarely sit still for more than five minutes. Crystal could sit in that semi-comfortable chair and just relax for half an hour on a regular day. But today, she started fidgeting after thirty seconds. John had to bite back a smile. He put the file down just as she reached her breaking point.

"Well?"

He shrugged. "It looks like everything's in order."

"Yes!" she cheered. She sprang up, flew around the desk, and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Thank you!"

John chuckled with what little breath he had left. When she pulled away and he could breathe again, he met her eyes seriously.

"Now, I don't ever want to see or hear about you pulling some stupid 'prank' with my son ever again. This community service is already going on your permanent record. Next time, you won't get away with just helping out at the vet's office. I'll actually have to arrest you. You understand?"

"I know," Crystal assured him. "And next time Stiles does something even close to illegal, I won't get involved."

John snorted. He highly doubted that. "Get out of here."

"Yes, sir!" She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and bounded out the door. "Oh, before I forget. You're coming to the spring concert, right?"

He nodded. "Wouldn't miss it. What's the theme this year?"

Crystal winked. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Her heart fluttered beneath her rib cage like a trapped bird. Her hand went to her hair, trying to find a loose curl to play with. She forced her hand back down when she felt the flowers—Lydia would murder her if she ruined her hairdo right before the concert.

Something brushed against her forehead. You'll be fine.

Her breath caught and her heart skipped a beat. "Daddy?"

His voice sounded amused. You've rehearsed this speech a dozen times. Both Lydia and Peter agreed that it's wonderful—and you know how hard it is to impress Peter.

She choked out a laugh. She had to blink rapidly to keep from tearing up. Taking a deep breath, Crystal stepped onstage and cast a bright smile toward the audience.

"Good evening. Thank you all for coming out tonight."

Her eyes fell on her family and friends in the first two rows. Scott sat between Melissa and Stiles, casting an amused glance at his best friend.

Stiles bounced excitedly in his seat. He cupped his hands over his mouth, but before he had a chance to yell, a dark figure loomed behind him. Stiles flailed wildly in his seat. On his other side, Sheriff Stilinski shook his head.

Derek leaned back, a small smirk on his lips. Next to him were Isaac, Lydia, and a pouting Jackson.

Crystal bit back a laugh. "Tonight, we're celebrating a new chapter in our lives. The seniors are graduating in a couple of weeks. We get to go off to college and pursue our dream jobs, or travel the world."

The seniors in the room cheered and clapped loudly.

"The juniors will be taking our place. They'll be counting the days until they can walk across the stage."

It was the juniors' turn to cheer, though it wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as the seniors'.

"We're all looking forward to the future. But tonight, we're going to be thinking about the past. Tonight is about reflection." Her heart clenched a little. She looked at the back wall, away from her friends, and noticed a familiar figure standing in the shadows by the door. "It's about celebrating the friends we've made and remembering the people we've lost. It's about remembering the people we were and looking at the people we've become. Each senior has picked out a song they think best reflects their memories or their thoughts of the last few years. Nick Fenley will begin tonight with Nickelback's 'Photograph'."

The lights dimmed. She stepped back, allowing Nick to take her place in front of the microphone.

Stiles bounded for the edge of the stage the moment the lights came up. Scott was right behind him. Crystal appeared moments later, smiling brightly.

"Crystal, that was awesome!"

"Thanks, Stiles." She looked over his shoulder. "Thanks for coming."

"We wouldn't miss it," his dad assured her.

"You've gotten better."

He really shouldn't have been surprised. He'd seen Crystal look behind him. He knew Derek was there—hell, Sourwolf had practically threatened him before the concert—but he still jumped when he heard Derek's voice right behind him.

"Will you stop doing that?"

Derek glared darkly at him, but almost everyone else was laughing.

"What did Stiles do now?" Lydia asked, slipping past Derek to look Crystal over. She nodded once, pleased that Crystal's flowery braid was still intact.

"I didn't do anything!" Stiles protested. "Derek snuck up behind me—again!"

"You should be used to it by now, dude," Scott told him.

Stiles grabbed at his chest, pretending to take offense. "Scott, I thought you were on my side!"

"I am," Scott assured him. "But he does this all the time."

"So do Scott and Crystal," Isaac pointed out.

"Nobody asked you," Stiles grumbled.

Derek rolled his eyes as Crystal threw her arms around Lydia.

"Thanks again for doing my hair," she said.

Lydia shrugged. "I figured since it was your last concert, you might as well have a fabulous hairdo."

"How many different flowers are you wearing?" Isaac wondered.

"Um, five, I think."

Lydia pointed to each pair of flowers as she listed them off. "Snapdragons for grace and strength, marigolds for creativity, yellow amaryllis and white carnations for good luck, and pink amaryllis for friendship."

Isaac and Scott looked amazed that Lydia knew so much about flowers. Derek raised an eyebrow, but as usual, Stiles had no idea what he could possibly be thinking. Lydia merely shrugged.

"So, what does a rose mean?" Isaac asked slyly.

"Depends on the color. Red is obvious. Pink means admiration or gratitude, orange is for passion, and yellow is for friendship. Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

But Stiles had seen Isaac's brief glance in Derek's direction, and from her sly smile, Lydia had seen it too.

Derek rolled his eyes. "A flower is a flower."

"Typical guy," Lydia sniffed.

He would never admit it out loud, but Stiles agreed with Derek. Sure, flowers were pretty, but they didn't really do anything. They also died too fast, especially if you didn't take care of them properly. Stiles certainly didn't have the ability to take care of flowers. Derek didn't seem like the type to care about flowers in general. Unless….

Stiles grinned devilishly at the broody Alpha. "Did you bring Crystal flowers?"

He barely shivered at the death glare Derek aimed at him.

Crystal laughed and shook her head. "Either way, thank you, Lydia."

"Okay." Melissa clapped her hands. "We'd better get going before Chester's gets packed. You're welcome to join us," she added, looking around.

Immediately, Lydia shook her head. "I can't. Jackson and I are having a movie night tonight." With a wave of her hand, she turned on her heel, her strawberry blonde hair falling in elegant waves over her shoulder.

"See you later," Stiles called.

"I should get going, too."

Crystal's smile fled. "Derek, come on. Please?"

Stiles shook his head as the two of them started a silent conversation. I really need to learn sign language this summer.

"Isaac?" Scott asked. "You coming?"

The lanky werewolf shrugged. "Sure. It's not like I have anything better to do."

Derek's head spun around, but before he could do more than open his mouth, Crystal asked, "Derek?"

His brooding look stayed stuck to his face as he signed a reply.

"Do they do this a lot?"

"Yep," Stiles told his dad. "Half the time I'm wondering if they're insulting us. And since we can't understand sign language, we'd never be able to tell."

"Stiles, if Derek was insulting you, he'd do it to your face," Crystal said, not looking away from Derek's gestures.

Stiles tilted his head, thinking. "You know, I don't think I've actually heard Derek insult me. Usually he just growls and threatens me with bodily harm."

"He what?" His dad looked between them in alarm.

Stiles shrugged like it was no big deal. It really wasn't. He knew when someone was serious about hurting him.

Gerard had been serious about hurting him. Crystal may threaten him and Scott on a regular basis, but he was pretty sure she loved them too much to do any real damage. And Derek…well, it depended on how far he pushed the Alpha. As long as he didn't suddenly get possessed by a demon and try to kill Crystal, he was fairly certain he was safe from Derek's claws.

Someone cleared their throat awkwardly. Stiles did a one-eighty and almost knocked into Greg.

"Greg," his dad said, surprised. "I didn't know you'd be coming."

"Why do you have flowers?" Scott wondered, frowning at the small bouquet of red roses in the young officer's hands. Greg's cheeks brightened.

"Come on, boys." Melissa handed Crystal her keys before gently but firmly steering Scott and Stiles away from the others.

"But—"

"Mom—"

"Walk," she commanded.

"I'd better go make sure my son doesn't get himself in trouble again," John sighed. "I'll meet you at Chester's."

"See you there." Crystal shot a significant look at Derek and Isaac; the young werewolf was snickering under his breath.

Derek took the hint. "We'll see you later, Crystal."

He disappeared into the fading crowd, dragging Isaac with him.

Satisfied that any potential eavesdroppers were gone, Crystal turned to Greg with a soft smile. "Thanks for coming."

"It was really good. You were amazing." Greg handed the small bouquet out toward her. "Here. These are for you."

Her smile grew brighter. "Thank you," she said, taking the flowers from him. "They're beautiful."

From the corner of her eye she saw Nick coming toward them, a wide grin on his face. "Hey, Crystal. My parents and I are heading out."

"Okay. Bye, Nick. You did great tonight."

"You, too." And with a wave of his hand, he was gone.

"I should get going, too. Stiles is probably starving to death and driving everyone else nuts."

Greg's face fell. "Yeah, you're probably hungry, too. I'll see you around."

"Bye, Greg. Thanks for the flowers." With another smile and an awkward wave, Crystal left.

She waited until she stepped out into the cool air before she allowed her shoulders to drop. Her conversation with Derek from a few months ago drifted through her mind.

"What are you saying? You think Greg has a crush on me?"

"I don't think. I know."

She looked at the small bouquet of red roses in her hand, recalling Greg's bright smile whenever she walked into the station and his almost devastated expression as she left tonight.

"Well, hell."

"Flowers from Derek?"

Crystal gasped at the unexpected voice and whirled to face the person hovering awkwardly by the doors.

"Allison!" Registering Allison's words, she looked down at the roses in her hand. "Uh, no. These are from Greg."

"Who?"

"He's a police officer; he works at the precinct."

"Oh."

They stood in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds.

"I…I didn't think you were coming. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did," Crystal added hurriedly, seeing Allison's face drop. "But you've kind of been avoiding everyone but Lydia lately."

"Yeah. I didn't think you'd want to see me, after…."

Crystal was shaking her head before Allison even finished her sentence. "Allison, it's not your fault. Gerard played you—hell, he played all of us. We were all pawns to him."

Allison raised her eyebrows skeptically. "That's not what you said after Kate died."

Crystal grimaced. "Apples and oranges. You knew what Kate was doing. She wasn't subtle about it. But Gerard knew how to get people to do exactly what he wanted them to do. He used your pain and anger to control you. He used our fear to manipulate us; he was always five steps ahead of us." She sighed. "Besides," she admitted, choosing her words carefully. "I get it. Losing people you care about…it hurts."

"Peter?" Allison guessed.

"And my parents and Cora. But I think Peter was the worst."

"Why? After everything Peter did—"

"Because for six years, Peter was the only person I had left from before the fire. I didn't see my parents die. I couldn't save Cora. I didn't know exactly who killed them until your aunt came back. But I saw Derek kill Peter right in front of me. If it had been anyone else, I would have killed them that night."

Allison frowned. "But you brought Peter back."

Crystal nodded. "That was a one-time thing. I had to drug Derek and use his blood, but as long as Peter's alive, I can deal with the consequences. I would have done almost anything to bring Peter back."

Allison studied her for a long moment. "What if Peter had killed one of us?"

There's the rub, Crystal thought, gnawing her bottom lip.

Peter had killed people. The insurance investigator, the arsonists, Jennifer the nurse, Kate, even his own niece. And he'd done worse. He'd almost killed Derek; he'd attacked Lydia and Scott; he could have hurt Stiles several times over; hell, he would have killed Allison and Chris! Every instinct in her body raged at the thought of someone hurting the people she cared about. Her fists clenched tightly around the roses. If anybody tried, she would take one of Chris's guns and use them for target practice, then rip their head off with her bare hands.

But it was Peter. No matter what he did, she could never hurt him. She doubted she could raise a finger against him if he tore all of Beacon Hills apart. She loved him too much.

She didn't have a good answer—certainly not one that Allison would accept. Instead, she shot the younger girl a strained smile and changed the subject. "We're heading over to Chester's for dinner. You and your dad can join us if you want."

Allison's eyes widened. "Who's gonna be there?"

"Me, Melissa, Stiles, his dad, Isaac…"

"Scott?"

"Yeah." Crystal watched Allison almost shrink in on herself at the thought of seeing her ex-boyfriend again and immediately added, "Or if you want, we can hang out with Lydia this weekend. Just the three of us."

"Maybe," Allison said reluctantly.

"Okay. Just let me know." Not wanting to push Allison further, but relieved the topic had drifted away from Peter, Crystal turned to leave and inwardly groaned.

A dark figure with glowing blue eyes stood next to her car.

She wasn't the only one who saw him. An SUV pulled up beside them, the window unrolled.

"Ready to go?" Chris asked his daughter, but his eyes met Crystal's. He raised an eyebrow in silent question.

Everything okay?

Crystal nodded.

"Yeah." Allison climbed into the passenger's seat.

"Drive safe," she told them.

"You, too," Chris said.

"Bye, Crystal." Allison waved a little awkwardly, but her smile was genuine.

Crystal grinned in return. Maybe things could get back to normal, after all.

She waited for the Argents to drive off before heading to her car. She was only slightly disappointed to see that Peter had disappeared. He couldn't be seen in public by too many people. He was supposed to be dead, after all. He'd come to her concert and let her know he was there. That was enough.

At least, that's what she told herself.

She unlocked her car door, slid inside, and went to put the roses on the passenger's seat. But there was already something lying there.

Her eyebrows rose at the bouquet next to a jewelry box and a note. She really shouldn't have been surprised. Werewolves were really good at sneaking around; Peter was the master. The only reason she'd seen him at the concert and across the parking lot was because he'd wanted her to see him.

That still raised the question of how the hell he'd gotten into her car in the first place. The lock wasn't broken and the windows were completely rolled up and intact.

"If he scratched my car, I swear to God…" she muttered, snatching the note off the seat and ripping it open.

But the note wasn't from Peter. It was from Derek.

You'll do great tonight.

-Derek

P.S. The flowers were Peter's idea.

Crystal picked up the small bouquet, sniffing them delicately. Five pink-and-orange roses surrounded a crimson rose. That explained Isaac's remark about roses earlier. But why six?

With a shrug—she could always ask him later—she plucked the crimson rose from the bouquet and pinned it behind her ear. She put the rest of them next to the roses from Greg and flipped open the small box. Her mouth dropped open in awe. With trembling hands, she took the diamond studs from her ears and replaced them with Derek's present.

The earrings were incredibly light, just over an inch long past the hooks. Silver braids wrapped in a circle and spread up the center to make a solid tree trunk. A handful of stones in varying shades of green formed the leaves. A ruby bird peered from between the branches. Crystal traced one of the little oak trees reverently. The earrings weren't new; in fact, they had belonged to her mother.

How had Derek found these? She couldn't remember seeing these earrings since before her thirteenth birthday. She certainly didn't remember seeing them the night of the fire. Maybe Melissa had found them and kept them safe. Or Taylor could have sent them and Derek just passed them on.

It didn't really matter how Derek found them. He had brought a piece of her mother back to her. She would never be able to properly thank him for such a gift.

Chester's was packed. Every table had at least six people circled around it, and there were people lining the walls. Thankfully, Crystal was not one of them. She had barely stepped foot inside when she heard her name.

"Crystal! Over here!"

Seated in the middle at one of the six-person tables were Melissa, Scott, Stiles, John, and Isaac. Stiles was standing beside his seat and waving his arms wildly.

"I see you, Stiles," she called, laughing at his exuberance. Muttering apologies, she pushed her way through the crowd until she managed to scoot into the seat Isaac had saved for her. Stiles already had a handful of fries stuffed in his mouth. Scott pushed the tray in her direction.

"Thanks." She plucked a fry from the pile before Stiles could get his hands on all of them.

Isaac pointed to the new addition to her hair's floral arrangement. "Nice rose."

Crystal narrowed her eyes at his mischievous expression. "Thanks."

"Is that one of Greg's flowers?"

The question seemed innocent enough, but Melissa had a glint in her eyes that raised every hair on Crystal's neck. She chewed her fry slowly to avoid answering. She'd never hear the end of it if they found out the flower was from Derek. Stiles still hadn't stopped teasing her about the jacket.

Unfortunately, Isaac seemed determined to sign his own death warrant.

"Oh, no. Derek left them in her car before the concert."

Crystal shot the werewolf next to her a furious glare. Isaac leaned away. Stiles muttered something around his fries. John shot him a disapproving look.

"Well, that was sweet of him," Melissa said.

"They were a gift from a friend," Crystal corrected shortly. She didn't want to open that can of worms tonight. Or ever. Unwilling to destroy Lydia's handiwork, she tore into her burger. "Derek just happened to be the messenger."

Stiles almost choked on his food. "Argent sent you flowers?"

She could work with that. "Derek didn't say. But so what if Chris sent the flowers? At least he gave me something." She shot her brother and Stiles a pointed look, her lips twitching in amusement.

"Hey, we came to your concert!" Stiles protested.

"Yes, you did. Where's my present for doing such a good job?" She laughed as Stiles spluttered. Scott just shook his head. "I'm kidding, Stiles. You don't have to get me anything."

"Unless it's your birthday or Christmas," Scott chimed in.

"Well, that's a given. Oh, and graduation. I expect you guys to come up with something really good for graduation."

"Why don't you guys do something fun for her graduation party?" Melissa suggested.

Crystal, Stiles and Scott blinked at each other. "Like what?"

"You could go bowling," Isaac suggested. Scott groaned.

Crystal's eyes lit up. "Yes!" She turned to Scott. "Scott, we're going bowling for my graduation."

"I hate bowling," he protested.

"But you've gotten so much better," Stiles said, snickering.

"He has?" John asked skeptically.

"Apparently," Melissa told him.

Scott ignored his mom, turning to Crystal with big sad eyes. "Why do you do this to me?"

"Because it's my graduation party, and I want to go bowling," she said promptly, looking away from his puppy dog eyes. "Don't worry, it'll be fun for all of us."

"All of us?"

"You honestly think she's not gonna drag Derek along?" Stiles waved in her direction. "He skipped out on her concert dinner."

Oh, she was definitely getting Derek involved. Maybe she could talk Peter into－no, he wouldn't want to hang around a bunch of teenagers more than he had to. She'd have to come up with something else to do with Peter.

"Maybe they're planning a little get-together later," Isaac snickered.

Crystal turned to him, grinning sharply. "Oh, yes. Pin the Tail is one of my favorite games."

"Keep it up, Isaac, and they're gonna use you as the donkey," Stiles warned.

"So, Crystal, do you have any plans for college?" John asked, steering the conversation to safer waters.

Crystal took another bite of her burger to avoid answering. With everything that happened over the last few months, she hadn't even thought about college, let alone applied anywhere. She still didn't know what she wanted to do after high school.

Melissa sighed. "You haven't applied anywhere, have you?"

"I forgot," she replied weakly. "I've been busy."

"Dude, this year's been insane," Stiles said. Scott and Isaac nodded in agreement. "I'm glad I'm not a senior this year." He grimaced. "Never thought I'd actually say those words, but you know, life's full of surprises."

Crystal giggled. Yes, it is.

A year ago, she was keeping her nightmares under wraps; her brother was an asthmatic lacrosse player who never actually played; Stiles was trying to get on Lydia Martin's radar; Peter was a comatose burn victim; and Derek and Laura were God-knew-where, doing God-knew-what.

Now, Scott was co-captain (and a werewolf, thanks to Peter); Peter had come back from the dead; Derek was the Alpha of three teenage werewolves; and Stiles was sort of friends with Lydia.

As for Crystal? Her nightmares hadn't stopped, exactly, but she didn't wake up screaming every night. They had a bit of variety now. And all she had to do was swing by Peter's apartment when they got really bad. Derek had started checking up on her at least once a week (she blamed Stiles and his inability to keep his mouth shut). She hung out with Lydia after school. She was friends with an Argent.

Life wasn't perfect, but things were looking up.

"She looks so happy."

Green eyes swam with tears. A warm arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"I wish we could do something to help her," another voice huffed angrily. "Anything."

"We've done all we can." The arm around her tightened. "She's not ready."

"Do you think they'll ever be ready?" she whispered.

Her friend sighed. "They took down two Argents. But it's not the same as going up against a pack of Alphas."

"And if Deucalion gets her involved…"

All three of them shuddered.

"We'll just have to pray it doesn't come to that."

"If she finds out about Crystal－"

"If she comes anywhere near Beacon Hills, she's a threat to Crystal." Her husband's voice hardened. His hand reached for hers, and she gripped it tightly. "And you've seen how werewolves deal with threats to their pack friends."

And Peter would destroy anyone who laid a finger on Crystal. But Peter wasn't strong enough to take on this challenge. None of them were. Not yet.

"Deucalion is a threat to Crystal," she corrected. Her free hand fiddled with her ears, bare of the earrings that hung there barely two hours ago. "If she finds out about her, I'm afraid there won't be a place on Earth Crystal can hide. She'll destroy her."

"Congratulations, class of 2011!"

Finally. Graduation Day. No more math classes, no more crap cafeteria food, no more gym, no more Harris…

Crystal pushed her way through the crowd and blinked. It threw her to see him without his leather jacket.

"Derek!" She bounded forward and wrapped her arms around him. "I didn't think you'd be here."

He chuckled. "You can thank Scott."

Her eyebrows rose and she took a step back. His green eyes sparked with irritation, but his smile was genuine. "Wow," she laughed. "Scott does work miracles."

Derek hummed. He turned his head, listening to something she couldn't hear. "I'd better go. Scott and Stiles are almost here."

"Derek, you don't have to go just be－"

"I have to get going anyway. I've got some things I need to take care of."

"All right," she sighed. "Are you still coming bowling with us tonight?"

"Maybe."

She frowned. "Derek, you need to have fun every once in a while. Otherwise everyone will start calling you Sourwolf."

Derek growled. "If that name gets around, I'll kill Stiles."

"No, you won't." She pressed a quick kiss on his scratchy cheek, hearing Stiles call her name. "I'll see you later."

Her heart sank as she watched Derek disappear into the crowd. Something was wrong. She just couldn't quite put her finger on what. Maybe it had something to do with Erica and Boyd? He'd given her evasive answers when she asked about them. Isaac got a cornered look on his face and just told her to talk to Derek. Unless Derek was just angry with them for abandoning him….

"Was that－"

"Not my boyfriend," she snapped.

Nick's eyebrows rose. "I was gonna ask if that was Derek Hale," he said carefully.

"Oh. Yes, that's Derek."

"I heard he was back in town. I didn't know you were friends with him, though."

Yeah, he came back months ago. She struggled to keep from rolling her eyes at her classmate. Former classmate. "I was friends with his sister when we were kids."

"Crystal!" Stiles pushed his way through the crowd, tripping over his own feet. Crystal and Scott reached out to catch him.

She smiled politely at Nick. "Congratulations, Nick. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah."

Stiles slung his arm around her shoulders and dragged her away. "So, what did Sourwolf want?"

"Well, I think he just wanted to say hi, but he left because someone decided to come looking for me." She shot the boys a pointed look.

"Why'd he take off, though? I mean, we kind of figured he'd be here. It's not like he's hiding from the cops," Stiles scoffed.

Scott winced. Crystal rolled her eyes. "I dunno, Stiles. Maybe he just doesn't like crowds. Or maybe he has something he needs to do before we go bowling tonight." Or maybe Derek was sick of Stiles and Isaac's childish antics.

"He's coming bowling with us?" they asked. Scott groaned as Stiles punched the air excitedly.

"He didn't give me a solid yes or no," she corrected them. "But I'm betting he'll show up."

"You're supposed to be at the bowling alley."

Derek didn't bother to look up from the map of Beacon Hills. "I never said I'd go."

"Derek." Peter yanked the map off the desk. "When was the last time Crystal asked you to do something with her? For fun, not for hunting down a werewolf or Gerard," he clarified, dodging his nephew's grasp.

Derek growled, red eyes flashing. "We watched a movie at her house last week. And I went to her concert."

Peter rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure the whole town went to the concert." But the movie was news. Seeing the stubborn glare on Derek's face, he changed tactics. "We still haven't managed to track down the Alpha pack. Scott won't be enough if they decide to go after Crystal."

Derek stiffened. "If you're so worried about the Alphas, why don't you go bowling?"

"See, I would," Peter lied. There was no force on this planet strong enough to get him to waste a perfectly good Friday night at a smelly, teen-filled bowling alley. Not even Crystal. "There's just one little problem: I'm no longer an Alpha. Even if I were at full strength, two Betas against an Alpha?" He shook his head. He didn't like those odds.

"Three," Derek muttered. "Isaac's gonna be there."

Peter shrugged. "So? That's one more person to help protect her."

Derek sighed and went to grab his keys. Peter watched, his lips twitching faintly. Stiles and Derek's little Beta were annoying, but they had a point. Derek had a hard time denying Crystal anything.

"What are you giving her for graduation?" Derek grumbled.

Peter caught the sound of approaching footsteps. "I haven't decided yet."

Derek rolled his eyes. He yanked the door to his new loft open and raised his eyebrows at the person on the other side.

"Taylor," Peter greeted. "Come in."

"Thank you."

Derek sidestepped to allow the lawyer to enter. He opened his mouth, but Peter waved him off. "Have fun. Say hi to Crystal for me."

He waited until Derek's footsteps faded. Then he turned to his family's lawyer. "Do you want to sit down?"

Taylor Robinson shook her head. Her thick black hair hung in loose waves around her face. "I won't be long." She set her briefcase on the only table in the room (Peter really needed to talk Derek into buying some real furniture) and pulled out a folder. "Do you remember when Talia made out her will?"

"Yes." His eyes narrowed. "I was one of the witnesses."

"Then I'm sure you remember that she left the bulk of her money to the surviving children of the Hale pack."

Peter nodded slowly. "That's not an issue. I have my own money."

"I know. That's the problem." Taylor flipped open the document and pointed to a highlighted page. "See, a portion of your money comes from Talia's estate. Most of it's been going toward your medical bills, per Crystal's request. But since you have a legal death certificate－"

"Forged," he snapped. He didn't like where this was going.

"Either way, it's on file. And it's gonna take a while to get it reversed. Until then, the money that Talia left you is set to be split between Crystal and Derek."

Peter gritted his teeth. Fine. He didn't need his sister's money. He had plenty of his own－

"And when you made out your will," Taylor continued softly. She pulled out another folder and passed it to him. "You left everything to Crystal."

Shit. Sure enough, his own signature stared up at him. "So I have nothing."

"Legally, no. Your apartment, your assets, everything that has your name attached to it. It's all Crystal's now."

Peter growled, turning so she didn't see his eyes flash. "How long will it take to reverse the death certificate?"

"A few months, at least. I talked to Satomi, but the only judge she trusts with this is out of the country. The good news is, Crystal won't be able to touch most of your money until she's twenty-one."

"That's a relief," Peter spat sarcastically. He dropped the file on the table. "So until then, I'm just supposed to live off Crystal's charity?"

A thin eyebrow rose. "Technically, you have been living off her charity for six years."

He glared at the lawyer. It didn't faze her. "How long can you keep this quiet?"

Taylor frowned. "That's why I'm telling you now. I can't keep this quiet anymore."

Peter took a deep breath to clear his mind. Damn you, Talia. If she hadn't all but forced him into making that will….

Then if you had died, Crystal would have nothing.

He shook off the thought that sounded too much like Jessica. Between the Braddocks and Talia, Crystal would be well-off. She didn't need his money.

She doesn't want your money, idiot. She wants you alive.

"I have to talk to Crystal this weekend," Taylor said, watching him warily. "I'm sure you and she can come to some sort of agreement."

He nodded sharply. A thought crossed his mind. "What else does Crystal get from my sister?"

Taylor shrugged, flipping through the larger file. "Most of the money stays in a trust until she's twenty-one, but as of her high school graduation, Crystal gets a two thousand dollar bonus and the Hale property in Beacon Hills."

Peter blinked. "She gets the house?"

"What's left of it."

Well, Crystal would love that. She'd probably have it torn down and remodeled. "Is there anything else?"

Taylor shook her head and gathered up her files. "I promise I'll get this sorted as fast as I can."

"I know you will." Taylor never made promises she couldn't keep.

He was still going to swing by the high school. At least Crystal and Derek didn't know about the vault.

Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed this story, and thank you for putting up with my long hiatus. Hiatuses.

The next story, Soul of the Pack, will be rated M. (Mainly for language, human sacrifices, and use of explicit death threats.)

Hope to see you then!