_____<•>_____
Blood was almost immediately rushing to Aspen's brain, and her stomach dropped to the pit of her stomach. It was as if every cohesive thought that should spring to mind vanished with the sight of Peter Hale standing as if the burn on his face did not affect him. Aspen slowing edged away from the man when something cold touched her arm suddenly, her heart skipping a beat. A looming voice sounded in her ear. "A little jumpy, aren't we, sweetheart?" Aspen spun around to see a nurse with red hair rolled back into a bun, which she only assumed was Jennifer. "what are you doing here? Visiting hours are over."
Stiles began to stammer as he pointed at the nurse and Peter, "Y--you...and him." the pieces of the puzzle that the group of teenagers has been trying to put together finally found it's place. But they never expected a picture such as this. "You're the one who--and he's--"
"I just said who he was Stiles," said as she stared at Peter from over Stiles's shoulder. "what's our exit strategy."
Aspen's hoped that there was more to Stiles' plan that Scott assured was brilliant. But seeing Stiles look at her with confusion flooding his eyes, she wished she had just gone home. "Our what?" Stiles asked.
"Oh my god. We're going to die."
Peter took a taunting step forward, and Aspen and Stiles moved away only to be blocked by the nurse. "You know, Aspen, you look a lot like your dad. How's he doing these days?"
Aspen felt a tug on her heart and didn't bother looking to Stiles as he furrowed his brows in confusion. "What's he talking about?"
"Ignore him." Aspen snapped.
Peter tilted his head, hearing Aspen's rapid heartbeat as if it were music to his ears. "Tell me, how coincidental is it that I would gain not one, but two members for my pack in the same night. First Scott and now you...the missing piece I didn't know I needed." the Alpha's voice was sinister, and it made Aspen's stomach twist. "how about we see some improvement hm? Give Stiles a show."
The familiar chill was running down the veins of her wrist, and she clenched her fist. Scott said the Alpha was able to turn him unwillingly. Since it was Peter who activated Aspen's Elementalist side from its dormant state, she was afraid the same thing would apply to her.
Stiles was in the middle of something that he wasn't aware was happening. "June what is he talking about--"
"Nothing," Aspen mumbled, keeping her fist clenched. Just Peter's presence was driving her off the edge, and it was hurting to contain her power. Her whole body was growing cold, and she was desperate just to let go. But not now. Not in front of Stiles.
Peter let out a sharp laugh, "June? Now that's ironic. Your parents really made your name into a riddle for you to figure out on your own, huh? I bet they went above and beyond to make sure you knew your family's origin. Do you even know what's coming."
Aspen felt a lump pressuring against her throat and but she swallowed against it. She wanted to belive he was spitting out random things to get her riled up, but some she was curious about. "What are you talking about?"
Peter was now only a hands reach away, and Stiles didn't bother moving, his eyes dancing between the two he was hidden in a cloud of questions. "I'm talking about your name being so significant. I'm talking about you being kept in the dark for too long. Do you really think your grandfather told you everything? Do you think Derek can be the one to help you? No, you need me. I knew Beckham more than anyone, and that means I know how to help you. All you have to do is ask."
Aspen felt a burning sensation behind her closed eyelids. Peter had gotten into her head somehow, and she couldn't fend him off. Her eyes were already white, and she prayed that Derek would come and help them before Stiles saw her eyes.
Stiles felt a breeze brush against his leg, and when he looked down, he was in a state of pure shock. He saw blood seeping through Aspen's balled fist as her hands shook uncontrollably. "What the hell are you doing?"
Peter knew he only had to apply a bit more pressure for her to completely unravel before his eyes, and he was enjoying every dying second. "You didn't really think your mom drowned on accident, did you?"
For a second, Aspen felt like she froze in time, Peter's words repeating in her head like a broken record. Her breathing had suddenly ceased, and her heart was close to breaking through her ribcage. Behind her closed eyelids, a flash of an imagine played before her. She was submerged in freezing water, the taste of salt lingering on her tongue, and the feeling of water sinking into her lungs. She had fallen in a vast of darkness, bubbled blurring her vision as she made out two silhouettes from afar. She recognized one to be her mother being forced farther into the blackness of the ocean by another woman she's never seen in her life. But more buried in the depths of her mind, she felt a connection to the woman.
Aspen drew in a sharp breath of air before opening her white eyes, the gold ring around her iris glowing. Jolting both hands forward, a direct pulse of solid wind came bursting from her body, slamming into Peter's chest and sending him to fly across the hall. The impact of his body hitting the wall sent a loud echo throughout the building, some dust from the ceiling falling on Aspen and Stiles.
When the room was suddenly quiet again, Aspen's vision became clear, and she felt herself tumble back before a pair of hands scooped her from under her arms. She let her head lay back against the hard chest, and she strained her heavy eyes to look up toward Derek, who's eyes were fixated across at Peter with profound hostility. "Stiles get her out of here. Now."
Stiles' question of what he had just witnessed had to wait as he rushed forward and let one of Aspen's hands drape around his neck while he hoisted her up by her waist. Her body was limp against his body, but he pulled through. The sound of Derek growling toward Peter was becoming nothing more than muffled background noise as Stiles' led Aspen down the hall and into a dark hospital room. He set her up on the bed and scrambled back to the door to lock it. He peered out the window, watching as Peter slammed his nephew into the ground.
Aspen had already controlled her breathing and was now staring down at her bloody hands that haven't stopped shaking. The images she saw in her head felt so real as if it were a forgotten memory that slipped away after so many years.
"Since when!?" Stiles randomly called out, his eyes bulging from his sockets as he stood before Aspen. His voice was a little high pitched, evident that he was overwhelmed from tonight's events. First, he found out who the Alpha was, and now he discovered he had another best friend that was supernatural. Within the blink of an eye, his face was falling as he put the pieces together of a puzzle he had not been clued into for the past few months. Stile's mouth snapped shut, and he ran a hand down his face. "You made Jackson's stick fly that one day in practice, didn't you? And you knocked over his becker in chemistry...oh my god did you save Derek at the clinic--"
"Stiles!" Aspen blurts out, "Yes. All of that was me."
Stiles stared at her for a moment, his brain clearly flashing back to all the possible moment he missed what Aspen was doing. "Wha--I get werewolf but air...blast...wind shooting from your hands? The hell is that about? Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because I was scared. I didn't fully understand what I was up until a few nights ago."
"And what are you, exactly?"
Aspen scrunched her nose, "That's a loaded question," she tossed around different explanations in her head, debating which one would sum up everything she's learned about herself. "I'm what Druids call an Elementalist, and my ancestors are supposedly the god of air and goddess of the moon."
Stiles' face was blank, her words not entirely processing at the moment. His mouth gaped for so long, she wondered how dry his throat was, "Are you sure you're not just an Airbender because what you just said sounds bizarre and stupid."
Aspen frowned. "This is why I didn't want to tell you and Scott. It's just too weird."
Stiles shook his head and began pacing the space in front of her. "No werewolves are weird. Elementalist just sounds insane--"
Aspen glared across at her friend, "I know Stiles! But there's no other way I can explain it. It is what it sounds like, as far fetched as it may seem. And I was going to tell you guys but not this way. Not when I was totally out of control. I wanted to improve and learn control before Scott decided to go against Peter but now--"
"Peter said it was good seeing you again," Stiles interjected, his eyes suddenly softening. "he wanted you to get mad back there. He didn't bother trying to hurt you, why?"
Aspen predicted this would happen. Stiles would begin to share Aspen's burden, and as much as she appreciated the effort, it would only distract them from their present problem. "I met Peter on my way to the school the night you guys were trapped. He must have sniffed me out, and when he approached me, he cowered back. Like he was scared of me."
Stiles looked skeptical of that statement. "An Alpha werewolf afraid of a teenage girl with wind magic? Don't see how that fits," he said, intertwining his fingers for emphasis. "And what was he talking about when he said your mom's death wasn't an accident? So, what? It was a murder?"
The image was now embedded in her brain. A woman pushing her mother deeper into the water as she clawed her way in defense. She could hear the muffled screaming through the water as her mother struggled to break free. "I saw her," Aspen murmured, her eyes fixated on the Stiles' shirt, "It was quick, and it lasted for only a moment, but it was so clear. Like a memory that I've forgotten. I saw a woman pushing my mom into the water by her neck. But the weird thing was, the other woman was drowning my mom without a problem. Like they could breathe underwater. And I was th--there...I saw it happening, but I don't remember anything. I just watched as she died, and then...what are you doing?"
During her quick rambling, she hadn't even noticed Stiles standing right in front of her, his hands planted on her shoulder with a firm grip to refrain her from shaking.
"You're crying," Stiles whispered, his gaze becoming worried.
Aspen met his brown eyes before quickly looking away to feel a warm tear sliding down her cheek. She wiped it away only to have more stinge her eyes. It was only a matter of time until she felt her bottom lip quiver, and Stiles was pulling her against his chest. It took a moment for her to respond, her body shaking under his tight hold a she felt his chin rest atop her head. "We'll figure this out, June. I promise." Stiles said quietly.
It was new to share such an intimate moment with Stiles. They would only ever banter about the smallest thing or debate over worthless subjects. It wasn't often that they shared kind words or even showed an ounce of affection. But right now, she felt violated, like Peter opened a door in her mind that had been sealed for years. A memory that she had chosen to burry without even realizing it.
Feeling her chest aching, she finally let out a soft sob as she clung onto the back of Stiles jacket, and he let her damp his shirt with her tears. She pulled him closer as humanly possible and sunk her face deeper into his chest, but he didn't seem to mind as his grip only became tighter. Guilt stung Stiles, seeing how much she had bottled up when she tried keeping them from the truth. It took Peter Hale to break her, thinking he had the upper hand. But Stiles was there to keep her intact like she knew he would.