Once in a Lifetime

49

Malia shook her head. "I'm here for moral support."

"For him, her or me?"

Scott spoke again. "You helped us fight the Ghost Riders."

"Self-preservation."

"But we couldn't have won without you. You're stronger than all of us. You were the real reason the Wild Hunt..."

Peter held a hand up. "Stop. A solid effort, you don't need to appeal to my ego. It's quite unhealthy. You're gonna need to work a lot harder than that if you want my help."

Scott and Tabitha crossed their arms. "What do you want?"

Peter walked closer to them. "Everything is pretty much the way I want it. My penthouse apartment is filled with mid-century furniture. My passport has more stamps than the post office. And did you see that car parked out front? That's a Shelby 1,000 Cobra. There are only two in the entire world. I have two. Two."

"Gerard has an army," Scott reminded him. "And every single one of them is looking for your head."

"And you think that means I'm going to enlist in your little endeavor. Because you're going to defeat Gerard? You and Tabitha aren't going to beat him, Scott. And let me show you why." He pulled a lever, revealing a hunter in the cell next to them holding a gun in front of him. "When I found him, that was pointed at my face. That is a G36, which fires 750 rounds per minute. And it's empty. For the moment." He pulled a magazine from his pocket and slid it through the slit in the door.

"Peter, wait," Scott said, trying to stop the former alpha.

"What the hell are you doing?" Malia asked.

"That homicidal guinea pig is gonna kill all of us unless you do what's necessary, and I don't feel like dying today," Peter replied, plugging his ears.

The hunter began firing at the teens before pausing to reload.

"There's something wrong with him," Scott said.

Peter nodded. "Yes, he's shooting at us. If you can't even kill him, how do you expect to win this war?"

Scott frowned and Tabitha glared at the former alpha.

The gun clicked and bullets stopped flying. Peter sent the hunter a smile. "Don't worry. It's just jammed. It tends to happen with automatic weapons that haven't been serviced recently. Just slide the bolt back."

The hunter nodded and did so. "Thanks." The firing resumed.

"We're not going to hurt you," Scott told the hunter.

Peter shook his head as the gunfire went on. "He can't be reasoned with, Scott. He's not shooting at us because he's afraid. He's trying to kill us because he hates us."

The hunter jumped forward and flew through the broken window caused by his bullets.

Scott grabbed his gun and they began wrestling as he asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because she wants you dead," the hunter said.

Peter smirked. "See? Blind obedience."

Scott shot him a look and slammed the hunter against the wall, instantly knocking him out.

Peter stared at the hunter. "Hmm. He never gave up. I would fight with him. I like him. That's how you win a war."

Malia glared. "You were never going to help us, were you?"

"Peter never does anything that doesn't benefit him," Scott said.

Peter frowned at Scott. "One day you'll learn you can't save everyone."