11. The Heart and the Spirit

In the land of gods and monstersI was an angelLiving in the garden of evilGods and Monsters ~ Lana Del Rey

Honey, I rose up from the deadI do it all the time Look What You Made Me Do ~ Taylor Swift

Note: I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has stuck with this fic and put up with me and my sporadic updates. I'll admit, I kind of forget about the fic and then I get a TON of comments and remember that people actually enjoy it. Thank you guys!

"So, you're finally done being mad at me?"

Cody leaned against the door frame of the Hale house, arms crossed. "Honestly, I haven't decided yet," she said with a small smile.

"Well, I hope you decide quick," said Derek. "Cuz I really need somebody on my side."

Cody took a few more steps inside so she and Derek were face to face and narrowed her eyes at him, sensing there was something else going on. "What happened?" she asked.

Derek looked away. "Boyd and Erica left," he said. "They found a new pack to join."

Cody gently put her hand on Derek's arm. "I'm sorry," she said. "You don't deserve that. But they're scared. And fear makes you do really terrible and really selfish things." She gave his hand a squeeze. "I feel bad," she said. "I wasn't on your side until Gerard decided to come after me too. Guess I've always been good at taking my own side no matter what."

Derek nodded, understanding what she meant.

Cody took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. "I'm not a wolf," she said. "But with Gerard after me, Allison hunting your pack, Scott tangled up in Gerard's mess, and Stiles worried about everyone else, I think I know what it feels like to be an omega."

Derek opened his mouth to speak but was cut short.

"Ah, just the two raging angry love birds I was hoping to find here," came a voice from the door.

Cody and Derek whipped around at the same time. Derek had grabbed a piece of broken mirror in front of him and thrown it. Cody sent another piece across the room.

Peter sidestepped the piece Cody threw and caught Derek's piece right before it sliced his neck open.

"I was expecting a slightly warmer welcome, but given the circumstances I guess I understand." Peter pointed the jagged piece of mirror in his hand towards Derek and Cody. "Point taken, though."

Cody gaped at Peter, standing there in the doorway, alive and unharmed. For a moment she thought she was dreaming, but her mind wouldn't be this cruel to her, even in a dream. "What the hell?" Was all she managed to gasp out.

Peter smiled eerily at her. "Cody, good to see you again."

"That's not possible..." said Cody.

Peter spread his arms wide to amplify his presence. "Not probable," he corrected. "And yet, here I am," he said with a grin. "This is quite a predicament you two got yourselves into. I'm out of commission for what, a few weeks? And suddenly there are lizard people, geriatric psychopaths, and Derek here is cooking up werewolves out of every teenager with self esteem issues."

Derek gritted his teeth. "What do you want?"

Peter shrugged. "Well, I want to help," he said. "You're my nephew, Derek. The only relative I have left. You know, there's still so much that I can teach you." Peter smiled and placed his hand on Derek's shoulder. "Can we just talk?"

Derek and Cody both looked at the hand Peter had placed on Derek's shoulder as if in disbelief.

"Sure," said Derek, taking hold of Peter's hand and removing it from his shoulder. "Let's talk."

Peter crashed through the banister of the rickety staircase with a crunch and fell to the floor with a groan.

"Seriously?" said Cody. She would have laughed if she wasn't so terrified of Peter. "You couldn't have expected that to go well," she called to Peter.

Derek rolled his shoulders back and started to walk towards his uncle.

"Oh, come on," Cody said. "Can we skip the fight this time?"

Apparently the answer to her question was no because Derek took hold of Peter's shirt and threw him back to the other side of the room. Cody side stepped so she wouldn't get hit. Derek gave Peter a hard kick in the chest and then pulled him up by his collar and punched him square in the face.

"You don't actually think I want to be the alpha again, do you?" Peter choked out through the blood running from is nose. "That wasn't my finest performance considering it ended in the death. I mean I'm usually-" he was cut off by Derek pulling him up for another punch. "-Okay, come on, do it. Hit me!" he gasped out. "I can see it's cathartic for you. You're letting go of all the anger and self loathing that comes with total and complete failure. I may be the one taking the beating but, Derek, you're the one who's been beaten."

Cody winced at his words. "That's a bit harsh."

"So, go ahead, hit me," continued Peter. "If it will make you feel better. I did say I wanted to help."

Derek let his uncle go and Peter crashed to the floor. "You can't help," said Derek, taking several step away.

"Why would you even want to?" asked Cody. "You've never helped anyone but yourself."

"You underestimate my capacity to care about other people, Cody," said Peter.

Cody shook her head. "No," she said firmly. "I know exactly who you are."

Peter pointed a finger at her. "You might have before," he said. "But being reincarnated really changes a man. See, prime example, right here. I'm not healing as fast as I used to. Coming back from the dead isn't easy. Not as strong as I used to be. I need a pack. An alpha." He turned to Derek. "Like you."

Cody's eyes darted between Peter and Derek, who was looking at the ground firmly as if studying it.

Cody finally asked the question that had been banging around in her brain for the last several minutes. "How did you manage to crawl your way out of your grave?"

"Well," said Peter. "It's a bit of a long story. A complicated process that involved Lydia's help and Derek's forced help. Very hard to explain, though. Even to a witch."

Cody turned to Derek. "How long have you known he's alive?" she asked.

"A few days," Derek answered.

"A few days?" Cody repeated. "And you didn't say anything? Thanks for the update, Der!" she snapped.

Derek gritted his teeth. "We weren't exactly talking much."

Peter put his hands up between Derek and Cody. "Okay, okay," he said. "I'll let you two hash that out in couples therapy. That's not why I'm here. You need me just as much as I need you," Peter continued.

"That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard," snapped Cody. "And I hang out with Stiles."

"She's right," said Derek. "Why would we want help from a complete psycho?"

"First of all," Peter protested. "I'm not a complete psycho. By the way, you're the one who slashed my throat open," he said, pointing to Derek. He then pointed to Cody. "And you're the one who set me on fire with your witch powers. We're all works in progress, so...We need each other. Sometimes, when you need help, you turn to people you'd never expect."

There was silence for a moment as everyone took in Peter's words.

Cody shook her head. "I say we kill him again." She turned to Derek. "You're an alpha. I'm a witch. It wouldn't be hard." Derek was quiet, obviously still thinking. "Besides, you know he'll turn on us when the time is right for him." She threw a glare Peter's way. "It's what he does best."

Peter scoffed. "You just get more and more bloodthirsty every time I see you," he said with a scoff. "Alas, the curse of power."

Cody rolled her eyes and took a seat on the stairs next to Derek. Peter turned to his nephew and continued.

"You tried to build your pack. You tried to prepare for the worst but you weren't ready for it. And now, Gerard is winning. He's taking his time, toying with Scott, going after your wolves. He wants to burn Cody at the stake. He's relishing in his victory."

Derek finally looked up into Peter's eyes. "How about you tell me something I don't know."

"Oh, I'm going to," Peter said. "And it's going to prove why you should trust me. Why you need to trust me. Both of you. I'm going to tell you how to stop Jackson."

"What do you mean?" asked Derek. "How to kill him?"

Peter shook his head. "No. How to save him."

"You can do that?" asked Cody, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Oh, ye of little faith," said Peter. "There's a myth. That you can cure a werewolf simply by calling out its Christian name."

Derek shook his head. "It's just a myth.

"Sometimes myths and legends come from truth. Our name is a symbol of who we are. The kanima has no identity. That's why it doesn't seek a pack."

Derek nodded. "It seeks a master."

"And who else grows up with no pack?" asked Peter. "No identity?"

"An orphan," Cody answered.

"Like Jackson. Right now his identity is disappearing into that snake monster and you need to bring him back."

"How?" asked Derek angrily.

"Through his heart! How else?"

"Jackson doesn't really have a heart to begin with," Cody protested.

Peter shook his head. "Not true. He would never admit it, but there is one person. One girl who Jackson shared a real bond. One person who can reach him. Save him."

As if coming to the conclusion together, Derek and Cody looked at each other. "Lydia," they said.

"Your best ally has always been anger, Derek, but what you lack most is heart and spirit," said Peter. "That's why you've always known that you need Scott for his heart, and Cody for her spirit. You need them more than anyone. Even someone as burned and dead on the inside as me knows better then to underestimate the simple, yet undeniable power of human love." Peter took a few steps back, leaned against the wall, and crossed his arms over his chest. "So go find Scott. And for the love of god, stop this incessant game of 'will they? Won't they?' and just work together. You're driving everyone crazy."

Derek and Cody looked at each other.

"You really think we should trust him?" asked Cody quietly.

Derek thought for a moment. "What else have we got to lose?"

Cody looked at Peter and Derek who were both waiting for her answer.

"For the record, I think this is bad idea," said Cody. "But I'm in."