The Alpha attacked the school bus the following night.
Which honestly?
Was a terrible decision.
Scott and Stiles were already on the bus when the creature struck.
Massive claws tore through the roof.
Students screamed instantly.
The driver crashed directly into a ditch.
Chaos exploded everywhere.
Scott transformed halfway accidentally.
Stiles grabbed a flare gun while hyperventilating aggressively.
"I AM TOO YOUNG FOR THIS."
The Alpha dropped onto the bus roof with a monstrous snarl.
Bigger than Scott.
Stronger than Derek.
Red eyes glowing through the darkness.
Its roar shook the entire road.
Students cried.
Windows shattered.
And then—
The bus doors opened calmly.
Drake stepped inside.
Wearing sweatpants.
Silence hit instantly.
The Alpha froze.
Scott looked emotional.
"…You came."
Drake looked mildly annoyed.
"I was trying to make tea."
The Alpha snarled violently and lunged downward through the roof.
Fast enough that Scott barely tracked it.
Strong enough to rip through steel effortlessly.
Drake caught it with one hand.
The entire bus cratered into the road beneath the impact.
Everyone screamed.
Except Drake.
Who looked deeply unimpressed.
The Alpha struggled wildly.
Claws tearing sparks from Drake's skin.
Ineffective.
Drake tilted his head slightly.
"…You're smaller than I expected."
The Alpha roared directly in his face.
Drake sighed.
Then casually slammed the Alpha through the side of the bus.
The creature bounced across the road hard enough to crack asphalt.
Scott stared in awe.
"…Holy crap."
Outside.
The Alpha recovered instantly.
Growling louder now.
More aggressive.
More desperate.
Then Drake stepped off the bus.
And his power slipped.
Just slightly.
The night sky split apart.
Clouds spiraled outward above Beacon Hills.
Crimson lightning erupted silently across the heavens.
The Alpha immediately whimpered.
Actually whimpered.
Drake's eyes glowed like dying suns now.
Ancient.
Inhuman.
Terrifying beyond instinct.
The Alpha backed away slowly.
Drake spoke softly.
And somehow that was worse than yelling.
"You are hurting my people."
The Alpha ran.
Immediately.
Scott blinked.
"…Did we just win?"
Drake watched the Alpha disappear into the preserve.
Then frowned slightly.
"…No."
Scott's relief vanished instantly.
"What do you mean no?"
Drake's eyes narrowed toward the forest.
"…It recognized me."
Derek found the truth first.
Mostly because paranoia was basically his personality.
The abandoned Hale house creaked quietly while Derek searched through old family journals.
Peter watched from the corner looking amused.
"You know, obsessively researching cosmic horrors is usually a bad sign mentally."
Derek ignored him.
Then suddenly froze.
"…No way."
Peter's amusement faded slightly.
"What?"
Derek slowly lifted one burned page from the journal.
Old Hale writing covered the paper.
Warnings.
Legends.
Stories passed through alpha bloodlines.
At the top of the page one title stood clear.
THE CRIMSON HOUND OF DEATH.
Peter's expression changed instantly.
"…That's impossible."
Derek read silently.
Then slower.
Then looked genuinely disturbed.
"Before humanity learned fear… there existed a beast that walked beside the end of all things."
Peter stopped smiling completely.
"That's not a werewolf story."
"No," Derek answered quietly.
"It's older."
Meanwhile across town—
Drake was losing control again.
The Nemeton pulsed violently beneath the preserve.
Calling to him constantly now.
Every pulse awakened more memories.
More power.
More hunger.
Scott found him standing in the preserve surrounded by floating debris.
Trees bent away from him instinctively.
The ground cracked beneath every heartbeat.
"…Drake?"
Drake slowly looked toward him.
And Scott froze.
His eyes.
They weren't crimson anymore.
They were black.
Endless blackness with burning red stars inside.
For one horrifying second—
Scott saw eternity staring back at him.
Then Drake blinked.
And the vision vanished.
Drake immediately noticed Scott's fear.
His expression fell slightly.
"…Sorry."
Scott swallowed nervously.
"No it's okay."
Pause.
"…Actually no it's REALLY not okay."
Drake laughed weakly despite himself.
Good.
Still human enough to laugh.
Then the preserve growled.
Not metaphorically.
Actually growled.
Both of them turned instantly toward the Nemeton.
Ancient roots twisted beneath the earth.
And somewhere deep underground—
Something enormous moved.
Peter Hale officially joined the pack by accident.
Which, according to Derek, was "the most Peter thing imaginable."
It happened after the Alpha attacked again.
This time near the old train depot.
Scott, Isaac, and Derek arrived first.
Big mistake.
The Alpha wasn't alone anymore.
Three Omegas emerged from the darkness beside it.
Starved.
Violent.
Controlled through fear.
Scott barely blocked the first attack before getting launched through a wall.
Isaac transformed instantly.
Derek fought two wolves at once.
And the Alpha smiled.
Not feral.
Intelligent.
Cruel.
"You're weak," the Alpha growled.
Derek snarled back immediately.
"I've heard worse."
The Alpha moved fast.
Too fast.
Even Derek struggled tracking it.
Claws ripped across his chest.
Scott got pinned against a train car.
Isaac nearly lost an arm.
Then Peter arrived.
Wearing sunglasses.
At night.
Because apparently near-death situations didn't stop him from being dramatic.
Peter took one look around.
Then sighed heavily.
"…I leave town for two hours."
The Alpha lunged toward Scott.
Peter moved instantly.
Intercepted.
Claws collided hard enough to crater the concrete.
The Alpha paused in surprise.
"…Peter Hale."
Peter smiled lazily.
"Yes, yes, terrifying resurrection story, very emotional."
Then Peter's expression sharpened slightly.
"But no one murders my family except me."
Scott blinked.
"…That's weirdly sweet."
"It absolutely is not." Derek answered.
The fight exploded.
Peter fought brutally.
Efficiently.
Like someone who enjoyed violence far too much.
But the Alpha still overpowered him.
One hit launched Peter through an entire brick wall.
The Alpha raised its claws for the killing blow—
Then everything stopped.
The air itself became heavy.
Crimson lightning split the sky.
The Alpha slowly turned.
Drake stood at the edge of the trainyard.
Eyes glowing black and crimson simultaneously.
And for the first time—
The Alpha looked genuinely afraid.
Peter slowly climbed from the rubble.
"…Oh good," he coughed.
"The apocalypse arrived."
Drake's voice echoed unnaturally.
"You touched my pack."
The Alpha tried to run.
Drake appeared directly in front of it instantly.
One hand closed around its throat.
Then calmly—
Lifted the fully transformed Alpha off the ground with one arm.
The Omega wolves immediately submitted.
Scott stared openly.
"…That's so unfair."
Peter watched Drake carefully.
Then something unexpected happened.
He smiled.
Small.
Real.
"…Fine," Peter muttered.
"I'm in the pack."
Derek looked horrified.
"Oh God."