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In the end it was Laura’s younger brother, Derek, who provided the answer. Well, actually it was one of Derek’s mortal pack members who just so happened to also be the father of his consort. The man acted as a sort of law enforcer amongst the mortals, and so it was his idea to send a messenger to Peter and the Underworld to negotiate. The Hale Alpha agreed readily, for he feared that the longer Lydia remained in Peter’s clutches the more likely it was that Laura would do something drastic. It had already been a few weeks, and they all were worried.
By this point, Peter had figured out that Lydia was his mate, and something long buried had awakened within him at this revelation. He did not want to force Lydia into becoming his, and so he kept his distance when she requested it. He used his magic to sustain her so that she would not hunger, though as water can have no owner she was free to drink from the underground springs at her leisure.
That had been a lively debate they had engaged in. Peter had been surprised but pleased to discover his mate was not as empty-headed as she sometimes pretended to be aboveground. Stupidity bored him, and that Lydia could keep him on his toes just made him want her more. She was fond of him, and often visited him in his throne room, but he knew she wished to return home, and that kept him in check.
The atmosphere of the Underworld was that of a perpetual twilight, due to there being no sun, and it was as they discussed how there could still be light, faint as it was, underground that Peter felt it—a mage trying to gain entry to his domain. The smile that had begun to form on his face disappeared as he granted access to the intruder.
Lydia stood up, shocked at whom it was that stepped out of the shadows and into Peter’s throne room. Stiles had been a childhood friend of hers before she was chosen to be one of Laura’s and he had been chosen to study magic under Sage Deaton, but she did not know he had become so powerful. Peter, on the other hand, merely smirked as the young one who smelled of his nephew, Derek, came forward demanding Lydia’s return. Normally Peter would have shown this upstart what true power was, Alpha’s mark or not, but Lydia’s hand on his arm stopped him.
It had been a surprise when Derek’s consort himself stepped forward, but no one denied that Stiles had a way with words unlike any other. Peter was a manipulative bastard, but if anyone could match him, it was Stiles. He outlined why he had come and what Laura was doing to the world above; he then explained that if Lydia were not returned, none would stop Laura when she tried to take Lydia back for herself. For Laura would come, and her wrath would be great, but it would be directed only at Peter. As he would be the only one in any danger, it would not be cause enough for the rest of the Underworld to go to war.
Peter knew at this point that he was beaten—for now—and as he nor the Underworld had yet claimed Lydia as theirs, he could not stop her from leaving him. He turned his back on Stiles, not wanting to see his mate leave with him, when he was brought up short by seeing Lydia drink from his goblet of wine. Wine made from the fruits of the Underworld.
As Lydia watched the events unfold, she knew what she had to do. She had felt this bond growing between her and Peter during the time she had been with him, but she also knew that he had never forced anything upon her. He was unsubtle in his affections for her, and obviously wanted her for more than just her beauty, but he was willing to let her leave him if that was what she wished. It was her choice, it always had been, and yet she knew there was only one option for her.
Stiles let out a cry of despair as Lydia handed the goblet back to Peter, for he also knew that to partake of the food of the Underworld was to become bound to the Underworld. The smile on Peter’s face was blinding as she pressed her lips to his with promises to return. She tasted of light and the thickly sweet pomegranate wine she had just drank, and it was the most beautiful thing he had ever tasted. He would let his mate go and explain the situation to her former mistress, but she would be back. And that was what mattered.
~THE END~