Derek Hale

Fire danced across the room, painting everything an alarming orange. Derek stood by the door when he heard a familiar laugh—the same one that had once belonged to the woman who had spoken of love, only to betray and destroy his family. He heard the screams of his family, the cracking of beams, and the collapse of the ceiling—all mixed together in a nightmare. He closed his eyes, expecting the remnants of the ceiling to hit him on the head, and then another millimeter and... He jerked upright in bed.

His heart was pounding, his body covered in cold sweat. It was just a dream. A dream. Just a dream, nothing more. But he dreamed it over and over again, always ending in the same place. Derek sat up, his gaze sliding to the photograph on the nightstand. He looked at the family photo, and the moonlight illuminated it—everyone smiling and happy. The pain in his chest became familiar.

His inner wolf called him to the old house. He fought it all night, but by dawn he gave in. The ruins greeted him with a burning smell that would never fade. Life had once been here: family dinners were held at this table every day, they watched silly TV shows on the sofa, but they did it together, his mother and sister cooked dinner in the kitchen, and he and his uncle sat on those stairs discussing everything under the sun. Now there was only rubble and pain.

Suddenly, Derek caught a new scent—vanilla and cinnamon. Someone had been here, rummaging through the drawers. His first thought was Kate, but no—she would have known where to look. It was a stranger.

He headed to Stiles' house. The door was open. Derek woke him and Scott, who was staying the night at a friend's. He told them what had happened at the cafe over breakfast. The boys discussed who might have wanted to break into the burned-out house, and why.

At that moment, a girl approached the table, bringing sauce for Stiles' pancakes. Derek caught the same scent: vanilla and cinnamon. His gaze caught the pendant on her neck—Talia Hale's, his mother's. There was no other like it.

The girl left, and Derek watched her go. She clearly didn't work here.

"I found who was there. The only question is, why was she there?"

(sorry, I wish I could make the description better, but there's a 2K limit)