?????? ?????? ∴ ???? ???? ?

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟖
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍

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Peyton slowly opened her eyes, only for her to instantly shut them again when she saw a bright light shining in her face. It wasn't long after that when she sat up to find herself sitting on a table in the vet clinic. Her eyes scanned her surroundings before spotting Deaton looking over an unconscious Scott on the table next to her. She just stared at the beta for a long moment before everything came flooding back to her. Lucky for her, the pain in her back was gone. Which was all she needed to tell her that her wound had healed. But it was still a lot to process.

What felt like an eternity passed before her attention landed on Derek. The Burns girl would be the first to admit she was surprised to find the alpha sitting in a chair beside her. His eyes were already glued to her, resulting in their gazes instantly meeting.

"What happened?" Peyton whispered, knowing Derek's heightened senses would allow him to hear her words.

"You were stabbed in the back," the Hale man bluntly stated before letting out a long sigh, "you're lucky you were able to say your healing spell before you went unconscious. I don't think you'd be breathing if you didn't."

It wasn't until that moment that the direness of the situation actually sank in. Peyton had control of extraordinary abilities, and yet she was almost killed by a simple dagger. Despite the blank look plastered on her face, the Burns girl was panicking on the inside. She soon rubbed her hands over her face, trying to mask her fear with exhaustion. But she knew Derek saw right through her act. He could tell she was terrified. And yet instead of saying anything to comfort her, he joined her in sitting in silence.

That lasted for what felt like an eternity before Peyton let out a long sigh and looked over at Derek. "I didn't think you'd come back for me."

The alpha couldn't help but scoff at her words while crossing his arms over his chest. "I wasn't just gonna leave you there to die."

"If you knew anything about my past alphas, you wouldn't be surprised by my thoughts."

Peyton was a bit surprised that her words made the Hale man tense, but she did her best not to show it. Mainly because she didn't want to ruin their first perfectly civil conversation. But it wasn't long before Derek opened his mouth to respond. "It wasn't my intention to have you heal Erica. I just...panicked. But I'm nothing like those other alphas, Peyton. I'm not just gonna use you."

"I think I'm starting to see that," the witch responded, earning a slightly shocked look from the alpha sitting in front of her. After watching a hint of curiosity flash across his features, the Burns girl couldn't fight the smile forming on her lips. "Don't get your hopes up, Derek. I'm still not joining your pack."