Peter had been living in his new apartment for about 2 weeks before he first saw her. He had just gotten home from a pack meeting involving the Alpha Pack when someone knocked on his door. This was a big surprise to him because no one, not even Derek, knew where he lived. He stepped slowly up to the door and looked out the peep hole. It was strange because he could hear a heart beat but could see no one. While he was looking at the empty hall the knock came again and he realized it was coming from very low on the door. Whoever was on the other side was very short. His curiosity peeked he opened the door and looked down at his visitor. It was a small child, no older the seven. She had long brown hair that was slightly tangled at the edges and looked like it could use a good wash. Her skin was pale, so she clearly didn't get out much. Her feet were bare and slightly dirty, so she must have been outside without shoes at one point. The red dress she wore had no sleeves and was at least 2 sizes to big for her. And Peter could smell something chemical coming off of her that made him want to cover his nose. But over the chemical smell was the scent of freshly baked goods and she had a plate of cookies in her hand. She also had a bright smile that made her wide green eyes shine with delight. She held the cookies up in front of her and said in a cheery voice, "Hi new neighbor."

Peter just stared at the strange child before looking up and down the hall in search of parents. When he found none he looked back at the still smiling girl whose arms were starting to tremble slightly from holding the plate up. The cookies were slightly burned around the edges but otherwise looked fine so Peter reached out and took the plate before it could be dropped, "Thank you." he said with a small smile, "And which apartment do you live in?"

She beamed up at him and pointed to the door directly across the hall. Peter wasn't really surprised by this, because chemical smells were always coming from behind that door. Peter didn't really know what the smell was, but it always made his stomach turn. He suspected it was some kind of drug, crack or meth probably. The question was, what was a little girl doing living in a place that smelled like that, "Me and my mommy live in that one." and that answered the question

"I see." Peter frowned slightly, he couldn't hear a heartbeat coming from in there which meant the girl was alone and talking to a stranger, "And where is your...mommy?"

"She went out with her friends." The girl's smile dwindled slightly, "She does that a lot. But it's alright because she's a grown up and they like to go out."

Peter frowned again and nodded, "I'm sure some do." it was clear the mother had told her child this to get her to stop complaining. But if there was no adult, that meant that a small child had used and oven by herself and managed to bake cookies. That could only happen if the girl was used to being by herself a lot. Peter ignored the pain this thought caused to form in his chest, "What is your name?"

"I'm Emily Parker." she said, smile coming back as she held out her hand

Peter smirked as he knelt down, took her hand, and shook it gently, "I'm Peter Hale. And if you ever need anything, come see me alright. No matter what time of day it is. If I'm home, I promise to help you."

"Alright." Emily said before skipping back across the hall and opening the door. She waved at him once more, "Bye Peter." and then shut the door and locked it

Peter loved the cookies, they were chocolate chip. And over the next months Emily would bring him sweets whenever he was home. Sometimes he would come home to find something sitting outside his apartment door. In exchange he would make sandwiches, several at a time, and give them to her. In his opinion, she was much to thin. He regretted not being able to be around more often to talk to her but he had a pack of murderous Alphas to deal with so you couldn't really blame him. Not to mention the evil Druid that had appeared and seemed to be after everyone. It was the day after everything had been settled when it happened.

He was very happy about how everything had turned out. The Alphas were either dead or had fled. The evil Druid bitch was dead by his own hand. Everyone was trying to get back to some semblance of a normal life. And he felt more relaxed then he had in weeks. Though he had to admit that he may have lost it for a little bit after he killed the evil bitch. The power that had flowed from the newly restored Nemeton had gone to his head for a few hours. But he really was happy just being a Beta. He didn't want to be Alpha again, the power had driven him completely mad once it had latched onto his wolf. He doubted he would ever be able to control something like that with all the demons lurking inside of him.

He had just sat down to read a good book, hot tea sitting beside him, when it started. At first it was nothing noticeable, just a few bumps and bangs. Nothing unusual in an apartment building. But then the yelling started and the banging got louder. Peter looked up and tried to identify where the sound was coming from. He felt his blood freeze when he realized it was coming from Emily's apartment. He was on his feet in an instant when a high pitched shriek filled the air. Normally, to a human, the sound would be muffled by the walls. But Peter heard it clearly with his wolf hearing. Before he could even get his door open he heard another shriek following the sound of flesh hitting flesh and then the sound of soft crying. He was banging on the door instantly and suddenly all the noise stopped.

He heard quiet sobbing from inside the apartment and a sharp voice hissing, "Shut up you little brat or I'll give you something to really cry about." then the door was open

Before him stood the most fowl smelling woman he had ever encountered. Her hair was greasy, her face thin and skeletal, her eyes sunken into her head and dark bags under her eyes. He guessed she had once looked much like her daughter, but now she just looked a mess. She reeked of chemicals and alcohol and sex. It made his nose wrinkle and he had to stop his hand half way to his nose. He pretended not to be enraged but concerned and asked, "Is everything alright? I heard a lot of noise just now."

The woman gave a smile that showed off slightly rotted teeth and exposed Peter to breath that could have peeled paint off of walls, "Everything is just fine. Just my daughter playing a little to rough. I'll make sure she keeps it down."

Peter clenched his fists at his side, trying to keep himself under control, "I see. Well, I'll keep and ear out anyway. Never know with kids, she may need to go to the hospital if she hurts herself."

The woman went ridged at the mention of the hospital but her smile stayed in place, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind." and then she slammed the door in his face.

He let out a growl and stayed there for a few minutes, just listening. The yelling didn't start up again but he could hear someone being dragged and a door being slammed, "Stay in there until you can stop being a crying little bitch." snapped the woman and the muffled sobbing became even more muffled

Peter really hoped she had been sent to her room, and not trapped in a closet or a cupboard. But he promised himself that the next time Emily was home alone, he was going to speak to her. If nothing else, he could convince her to stay with him. He was sure it wouldn't be to hard and he doubted Emily's mother would even notice a missing daughter. He waited for the rest of the day, sure she would leave before dark to do drug slut related things. And he was right. Just as the sun was starting to set the door across the hall open and shut and within a minute the woman was out of the building.

Instantly Peter was across the hall and trying the door. He wasn't to surprised to find it unlocked, but what he found when he opened the door made him growl. The place was a filthy mess. There were take out boxes and containers everywhere with different stages of mold growing in and around them. Dirty dishes and glasses were scattered around as well as several different alcohol bottles. The whole place smelled like drugs, sex, and sadness. He could still smell tears and followed them. His worst fears were confirmed when he entered a filthy bedroom and found himself following the scent to a closet door. A closet door with a padlock on it. He could also smell urine from inside, and it was fresh. Emily's mother hadn't even let her out to use the bathroom.

He ripped the padlock in half with his bare hands and yanked the closet doors open. Emily was pushed back against the wall, silent tears falling from fear filled eyes. Peter knelt down so she could see him around the hanging clothing she was hiding behind, "Emily, sweetheart, you can come out now."

She let out a choked sob and ran into Peter's spread arms. Her thin little arms latched around his neck and her tears fell onto his shoulder as she just started to cry. He shushed her and rubbed her back as he stood and left the apartment, "It's alright now Emily. I'll never let her touch you again. I promise, no one is going to hurt you anymore." he just kept talking to her as he went to his own apartment. He took her to the bathroom and started filling up the bathtub to clean off the urine and dirt, Emily still latched to his neck, "We need to clean you off Emily." he said softly, "Do you want some help or do you want me to leave you alone?"

Emily stiffened before holding on tighter, "Don't go." she whispered brokenly

Peter nodded and gently got her to let go so he could slide off her dress. He was astonished to see the bruises the dress had covered. There were several of different sizes and states of healing. Her underwear was clearly dirty but he doubted she had many different pairs. He gently lowered her into the hot water and started to wash her. He was slow and light with his touches, trying his best not to hurt or startle her. He had her wash her own lower region, for her sanity as well as his own. He was just glad he didn't smell any sex on her and held out hope that no one had ever touched her. After about an hour, when the water was no longer hot, Emily was clean and the water murky with dirt.

Peter toweled her dry before wrapping a blanket he had brought from the living room around her. He sat her on the couch and said, "I have to go away for a few minutes. I promise, I'm just getting things from your house." he stroked his fingers through her wet hair, "Will you be alright?"

Emily gave a determined look and bit her bottom lip when it wobbled, "As long as you come right back." she whispered

Peter gave her a sad smile and stroked her cheek, "Of course Emily. I would never leave you for very long." he rushed out of the room and back into the filthy apartment. He didn't really find anything that could be called Emily's room. But he did find a corner in the main living space that had a pile of blankets and a few dresses and things. He noticed that there were no toys and he hoped to soon fix that. He was saddened to see that none of the clothing was any cleaner then what Emily had been wearing before. Also, they were all either to big or small for the little girl. He let out a growl before grabbing everything and leaving, shutting the door tight behind him. He rushed back into the living room of his own apartment and Emily gave him a shaky smile which he returned.

He frowned down at the clothing in his hand and sighed, "Looks like I have some washing to do Emily. Can't have you wearing these awful things." he turned on the television and showed her how to work the remote, "Now, you pick something to watch while I go downstairs and get this laundry started. I promise to be back in 5 minutes." and then he rushed off with a bag filled with little girls clothing and a pocket filled with quarters. Once everything was washing he rushed back up to join Emily in watching cartoons for the next hour before going back downstairs to put the clothing in the dryer.

Once he had Emily dressed in clean clothing he smiled, "There, so much better." he took out a brush and started on her now dry hair. Once it was brushed out he braided it down the back. Then he had her spin around to show off her clean dress and hair. She was giggling the whole time, clearly happy to be clean, "Now, how about I make us some soup." her smile doubled in size and she nodded eagerly. Peter was sure she must be half starved and decided to keep it simple for a few days before moving onto more solid food.

While he made lunch he thought about all the things he would need now. The first thing was to get her some proper clothing. But he couldn't take her outside the way she was now, without even a pair of shoes. So he decided to order everything online, as well as several toys and books. He was sure she had never even been to school and wondered if she even knew how to read. And then he really thinks about what he has just done and it hits him that he only has a small idea about what he's doing. He knows how to care for a child, after all, he grew up in a house filled with them. But he doesn't know what he's going to do if anyone starts asking questions. He can't leave her alone like her mother, but he can't bring her with him if he goes to a pack meeting. They might think he had kidnapped her or bought her on some sort of slave market. He really couldn't blame them for thinking he was evil, but it wasn't true. Peter wasn't evil, he was just a bit of an asshole.

Once he had finished making soup he rejoined Emily in the living room and shortly after the little girl had eaten she fell asleep in Peter's lap. And at that moment, looking down at the sleeping girl, he decided he would have to make it work. Because he was never letting this little treasure go.