The heads up Ty gave Mae about Damon looking for blood if she did not return to his pack was something that she and Derek could not keep to themselves. Mae knew that Damon would make good on his threat, which meant that everyone would need to be on alert...be prepared. Damon's deadline was only a few days away. That did not give them much time at all, but they would have to make the most of it.

During this time the pack was coming up with as many scenarios as they could as to what could happened when Damon's deadline came. Ty had been allowed in on these meetings since he made it clear that he was leaving Damon's pack. Mae vouched for him so Scott agreed. None of them knew that Ty was betraying them by reporting everything back to Damon. Stiles thought Ty was suspicious and mentioned this several times. Each time Scott told him that if Mae trusted Ty then they could. Even so, Scott himself was weary of Ty as well. Derek and Liam certainly didn't like Ty being around so much. Part of it was because he was from Damon's pack but the other part, the bigger part, was his connection to Mae.

Lydia didn't have much of an opinion of Ty over the past few days. She had other things on her mind. One thing in particular was the fact that she felt Mae was going to die at the end of all of this and yet she was going to survive. She couldn't understand her conflicting feelings so she didn't voice them. Lydia wasn't about to get her head bitten off by who knows how many members of the pack for divulging this information without anything to support it. So, she kept it to herself like a lot of things. Lydia knew that eventually she would have to say something...but eventually hadn't come yet.

Suffice it to say, the days leading up to the deadline were a whirlwind. They went on with their day to day lives, were on the constant defense in case Damon decided to attack early, the plotting and planning, and everything else in between. Before they knew it...the day of the full moon had come. Every one of them awoke with a heavy heart as if they all knew that something terrible was going to happen that day. They didn't need to be psychic or anything like that to know something was coming.

Mae did not return to Damon's pack, just as she said she would not. This act would lead to Damon's soon retaliation. A retaliation that Damon would ensure...and would be one that no one would expect...

It was late afternoon on the day of the full moon when Derek was at his loft getting ready to meet up with Mae and the others at the Animal Clinic. Just as Derek was about to leave, Damon, and Mae's parents; Vanessa, and Theo arrived. Damon entered the loft cockily as Derek prepared himself for a fight. The odds of three against one were not in Derek's favor, especially with Damon being an alpha, but he was more than capable of holding his own, if it did come down to that.

Damon looked Derek over as he said, "So this is the wold that stole my Mae away. Huh, I was expecting…more". Damon did not seem impressed by the werewolf standing in front of him. He had heard of the Hale pack and yet was still quite unimpressed.

Derek didn't take down his defenses for a second as he said, "Mae doesn't belong to you or anyone. Nor is she here". He hated how Damon was talking about Mae like she was a piece of his property.

Damon, with Vanessa and Theo not far behind, said "Is that what she believes? How sweet. No matter, I'm not here for her…I'm here for you". On that cue Vanessa and Theo both shifted and pulled cattle prods from behind their backs. They were not there to kill Derek, oh no, they needed him alive for bait.

Derek saw what the held and he wasn't going to make their attempt at a capture an easy one. He put up a great fight but eventually the odds worked against him, and he was over powered between the two betas and their cattle prods, and Damon; their alpha. Once Derek was unconscious Vanessa and Theo bound him before taking him out of the loft as Damon led them to their next phase of his plan. Damon walked out of the loft even more cockily than he had entered because in his mind...he had already won.

Mae and some of the others were at the Animal Clinic because Deaton kept wanting to see Mae for himself and determine whether or not she was the key to unlocking the great evil in the Nemeton.

Mae stood next to the tub filled with ice and moved her hand over the water, just enough to barely make contact. "I do not like this idea, not one bit." she admitted as she removed her hand and looked at Scott. "There's got to be another way. Anything but...this."

"There isn't another way, I'm afraid." Deaton answered in place of Scott.

"It's nothing Mae, we've done it before and survived." Stiles was making it out like it was nothing when in reality he knew the risks, but he wasn't about to let Mae in on that little tidbit of information.

It comforted Mae a little to know that they had been through this before and survived. "Let's just get this over with before I change my mind." Mae climbed into the ice bath and shivered upon contact. "Now what?" she asked as she sat there with her shoulders and head above the water.

"Now you go under, willingly." Deaton informed her and with a deep breath, Mae went under. She couldn't exactly explain what happened when she was submerged. It was like she was seeing darkness and light and a million different images all at once. Finally it got to be too much and she shot out of the tub with a gasp.

Scott helped Mae out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her. She shivered as she started to dry herself off. "You get what you needed?" Mae asked Deaton who was looking at the water. Mae soon looked at the water herself when she noticed the others were too. Where there was once clear water, ice cubes, and herbs, now had a dark black liquid. "Yes." Deaton replied, "I do believe we did."

Ty arrived just as Mae had finished drying of. He saw the tub in the center of the room and the expressions on everyone's faces. "Alright...what did I miss?" Ty asked as he looked around the room.

"Oh nothing. Just the ritualistic ice bath that usually leads up to something horrible happening." Stiles replied sarcastically.

Ty had no idea what Stiles was talking about and looked at Mae with a 'what?' expression on his face. Mae knew that face well and while she was dry she was still shivering as she said, "Deaton confirmed I am the key." Ty still had no idea what was going on and how Mae was a key to something. That bit of information hadn't been mentioned over the past few days since Ty's inclusion.

Before any questions could be asked, Kira and Liam came into the back. "Kira's mom found it!" Liam exclaimed and Kira clarified, "She found the rest of the legend." as she handed Deaton a loosely translated copy of it. Deaton read the words aloud:

"When a lamb is sacrificed at a sleeping altar it will awaken its power. The more lambs that are sacrificed the more the altar will awaken. When these tributes are given to the altar, the first sacrificial lamb will be returned to the earth as a wolf. This wolf will become the ultimate sacrifice; the key to unlocking the altar's darkest power. If this wolf is sacrificed at the altar then the darkness will be released upon the earth in the vessel of the one who gave the ultimate sacrifice. In order to stop the darkness, history must repeat. If history does not repeat itself then the darkness will wreak havoc upon the earth until there is nothing left".

"So does anyone else think this sounds like the Nogitsune's eviler twin?" Stiles asked as he was trying to make a joke but it wasn't received very well. Ty didn't even hear what Stiles said because his mind was too focused on making sense of everything he had just heard.

Mae was really starting to worry and was starting to think even more now that she should have gotten the hell out of dodge when she had the chance. Now it was too late. Thinking of that made her think that Derek was also late. "I'm calling Derek." She said before grabbing her cell phone, "He should have been here by now."

While Mae was trying to contact Derek, Ty was finally seeing what Damon's plan really was. He felt a sense of betrayal as he put all the pieces together. Damon didn't want Mae back in the pack, that was just a cover...it had to be. Damon must have wanted to kill Mae and gain the darkness this entire time. And Ty had given Damon all the ammunition to succeed...

Mae wasn't able to get ahold of Derek and she was starting to worry. "He's not answering. I'm going over there." Mae was about to leave when she heard Ty speak.

"He won't be there." Ty said, which caught the attention of everyone in the room.

"Excuse me?" Mae asked in a 'what the hell are you talking about?' kind of tone.

Ty looked at Mae and repeated his words, "He won't be there."

"Then where is he?" Stiles asked Ty who replied with, "I think there's something I need to tell you..."

Mae tried her best to keep her cool as Ty explained everything about Damon's plan and his part in it. She almost lost it a couple times but she knew if she did that he wouldn't be able to finish and she had to hear everything. When Ty finally finished speaking, Mae went right up to Ty and punched him right in the face. "I trusted you!" She yelled at him, "I let you get close to my pack, my family and this whole time you were setting me up to have me killed!" Mae's eyes turned golden and she tried to swing at Ty again but Scott held her back.

"This isn't going to help anything Mae." Scott told her which made her eyes return to normal.

"Mae, I swear I didn't know what Damon's real plan was. Not until I figured it out right now. I thought he just wanted you back in the pack, I swear!" Ty was pleading with Mae, hoping she'd find some way to forgive him.

Mae tried to get back at Ty, but Scott continued to restrain her, as she yelled "Wy should I believe you!"

Part of Ty wished what Scott would just let her go and give her the chance to take it all out on him but the other part really wished she'd listen. With a sigh Ty answered Mae, "Because it's the truth but you won't believe that so believe this. I'm the only one here who knows where he took Derek."

Mae calmed herself after hearing those words come from Ty. Scott released her from his grip and everyone in the room looked at Ty in a way that told him the only reason why he was still standing there was because he had information that they needed.

Deaton finally spoke to break the silence, "Mae should stay here with me. Now with what we know, if Mae goes then she will be playing right into Damon's hands".

Scott had the same thought, "I agree". Mae going along was not even a possibility.

Mae had an 'no way' look on her face and voiced it, "I don't care if you agree or not, I'm going". This was Derek's life on the line. There was no way Mae wans't going to be a part of this.

Scott looked at Mae, "No you're not. You're going to stay here and you are going to stay safe. I mean it".

Mae looked right at Scott as she said, "And if you leave me here I will find some way to get out and follow you anyway, all alone. I mean that". Mae had a stare down with Scott in that moment, something Scott found impressive but he didn't think about that. What he did think about was that Mae would most likely find a way to follow them so he'd rather have her with them than try following alone.

Scott's reply was reluctant, "Fine, you can come. But you are staying close to me. If you die there then…"

Mae finished his thought as she said, "Then a darkness unlike any other will be released upon the earth. I know". She also knew there was a way to stop it if it came down to that. The legend said so. The legend said a lot actually, it all depended on how it's perceived by the reader.

With a brief look of 'I'm going to regret this' on Scott's face he said, "Let's go". Everyone filed out of the room before Lydia and Scott. Before Scott could leave the room, Lydia stopped him, "No matter what happens tonight, people are going to die".

Scott didn't like hearing that but there was nothing he could do. If they did nothing people would die and if they did something people would also die. If he was going to be one of those to die then he'd rather die doing something than nothing. So, Scott didn't say a word and just followed the others with Lydia right behind him.

The whole drive to the woods Stiles was trying to talk Mae out of coming, "You do realize this is suicidal for you right? And homicidal if you do wake up that darkness or whatever".

Mae had an 'I know, I know' look on her face and Stiles shook his head. "You should have stayed behind".

Malia leaned forward from the backseat and said, "If she wants to unleash hell on Earth that's her decision". Mae glared at Malia who returned the glare before going back in the back seat. "Was just trying to be supportive." Malia spoke with an eye roll and a bit of a huff.

When they arrived at the edge of the forest they saw Damon's truck. While Ty seemed to be telling the truth about the location, that didn't mean he was anywhere near close to being forgiven. Ty had burned too many bridges and crossed too many lines this time. Ty got out of Lydia's car when he saw Mae get out of Stiles' jeep. He hurried over to Mae and tried to stop her, "Mae, please don't do this".

Mae pulled herself away from Ty's grip and said, "I wouldn't have to, none of us would have had to if you didn't lie this whole time! If you didn't betray us this whole time!".

Ty took what she shot at him then replied, "I just wanted you to come home…I love you Mae".

Mae gestured for Ty to stop talking, "Don't give me that crap Ty, especially when I will never love you in any sense of the word again". Mae left Ty standing there brokenhearted as she went over to Scott and Stiles. "We'll lead the way". Stiles said to Mae before she walked right past him. "I remember where it is", she said. This may be Mae's first time to the Nemeton but Paige had been there before and thus Mae remembered.

As the pack entered the woods on the way to the Nemeton the Moon was rising in the sky and was beginning to gain a red hue with each passing moment.

The pack walked through the forest and the closer they got to the Nemeton the stronger Lydia's feeling became that there would be more than one death that night. A glow could be seen in the distance from torches Damon must have lit around the Nemeton. There was much light that night around the Nemeton not only from the torches but the full moon that was rising in the sky. The full moon was far redder than before, the red radiated off the moon onto the surrounding clouds. It was one of the eeriest things they had ever seen, and they had seen a lot.

Mae gasped when she saw an unconscious Derek strung up and bound. She picked up her pace a little and started running towards him. Scott told Mae to slow down but she didn't and when she crossed a certain point, Damon's emissary put the last bit of Mountain Ash in place to keep the unwanted out and the wanted in.

Scott and the others tried to get through but they hit the ash wall. When Mae realized what had happened she ran back to them. "Stiles, get rid of some". Scott said to Stiles quickly but before he could wipe any away Vanessa came out from behind a tree within the circle, "I wouldn't do that if I were you". She said as she raised a gun and aimed it at Stiles' head. Theo emerged as well with a gun aimed at Lydia's; since they were the only two present would could touch the ash.

Mae couldn't believe she had taken the bait and was getting angry, just as she was about to lunge towards one of her parents, Damon came closer, "Now is that any way to treat you're family?".

Mae growled at Damon, "You're not my family. Never have been. Never will be." It took everything Mae had not to try and attack Damon right then and there. She knew she had to play this smart but it was really hard to do so.

Damon laughed, "You are right about that. Your parents aren't even your parents. Those beliefs were just false memories placed within us. The power of the Nemeton is great". As Damon circled around Mae, she followed him in case he tried to attack.

"And you know this how?" Mae asked to which Damon replied, "My emissary has the gift of entering one's mind. When she returned to us something was…off. Soon after the truth was unveiled". Damon stopped walking and so did Mae. "Now, let's get down to business". Damon looked at Theo and Vanessa, "If the human or banshee move, kill them. If the wolves try to cross the barrier just let them try. It will be amusing to see them fail". Damon went over to Mae and asked, "Now are you going to come with me willingly or am I going to have to start ripping that wolf apart until you decide to come?"

Mae looked over at Derek and didn't have to say anything to Damon, he knew what her answer would be. "Good choice". He said to her as he walked towards the Nemeton. Mae turned around to look back to her pack; her family. She looked at each one of them like she was saying goodbye. After she gave out her goodbyes she looked at Scott and mouthed, "Trust me". Mae briefly looked like she was at peace with what was happening before her face turned hard as she followed Damon to the Nemeton.

Liam couldn't deal with what was happening. Between these events and the full moon, he gave into his wolf and shifted. Liam kept trying to break through the barrier and his failings amused Vanessa and Theo. Scott and Ty shifted as well and tried to break through with Kira also in aide. Barriers such as this had been broken before, they were all determined to break this one as well. None of them could just stand there and do nothing while Mae was being led to the Nemeton. The only ones who could do nothing were Lydia and Stiles, because if they tried then they would have been shot on sight.

Derek was weak when his eyes started to open. He thought he was seeing things when Mae approached him. "Run". he said to her weakly when she got close to him. Mae cupped his face and just said, "I love you". She didn't say goodbye, she wouldn't say goodbye, she couldn't.

Derek didn't know what kind of concoction Damon's emissary had given him but he was very weak. He tried to break out of his binds but it was no use. All he could do was watch. Hearing Mae say, "I'm ready" put Derek into overdrive. Even though he was weak he kept pulling at his binds, trying to break free. He couldn't get free, not in the state he was in, but that didn't stop him.

Mae stood in front of the Nemeton as Damon shifted. His red eyes glowed as much as the blood moon was shining down on them. He brought up his claw and slashed it across Mae's throat. She brought her hands to her throat and staggered back, falling onto the Nemeton. When Mae took her last breath, Damon roared out in celebration. Little did he know, his celebration would not last long.

Seeing what had happened to Mae shocked Liam back into his human form. The rest of the pack stopped due to the shock, anger, and pain of what they had just witnessed. Someone who they had come to love and care about in such a short time had been killed before their eyes. That's what hit them more than what they knew was going to come because of it. Scott blamed himself, if he hadn't let her come then she wouldn't be dead. In the midst of blaming himself, he had the feeling to look at Lydia, so he did. Lydia returned Scott's look and shook her head. Scott then turned back around just in time to see a darkness fill Mae and rise from the Nemeton.

You see, Mae had her own perception of the legend as soon as she heard it. It was like a part of her just clicked and knew what she had to do even if she didn't know why. Mae asked Scott to trust her because she trusted herself and knew what she was doing. It was confusing and strange but she just knew, and she was right.

When Mae fell back onto the Nemeton and her blood touched it, the darkness was awakened. The darkness seeped out of the Nemeton and into Mae. It healed her wounds and brought her back to life. Mae rose from the Nemeton as the blood moon shone its brightest down upon them. The darkness radiated off of Mae like a living aura. It was so strong that it cast a shadow over Damon. This caught his attention as he turned around to find Mae standing there with the power that he believed he was supposed to possess. "How can this be!" He yelled angrily. "You said it would be mine!" He shouted at his emissary in anger.

In the blink of an eye Mae was right in front of Damon and said, "You should have read the fine print". With an evil grin on her face she thrust her hand into Damon's chest and gripped tightly around his heart as she explained, "The one who gave the ultimate sacrifice would receive the darkness. Not the one who killed the sacrifice." Mae took her free hand and pulled a powerless Damon closer to her, "Me" She then ripped his heart from his chest and ignited Damon, letting him burn until he was nothing but a pile of ashes.

The group on both sides of the barrier looked in shock and horror, if they were to be honest. Vanessa, Theo, and Damon's emissary tried to escape but Mae reacted in lightning like speeds and killed each one of them the same way she had killed Damon. They didn't even stand a chance.

Scott told everyone to back away from the barrier. Mae looked at them with an evil look in her black and red eyes that matched the moon above, and with a different ability she blew the mountain ash away thus making the barrier disappear. Just as she was going to eradicate Scott and the others as she did with Damon and his pack, something stopped her.

Derek called out to Mae and in the blink of an eye she was right in front of him. Mae had her hand raised to trust into Derek's chest but stopped when she looked into Derek's eyes. He was her love, her anchor, and in that moment he was the only thing keeping bringing her true self to the surface. The black aura around her became lighter and her eyes turned back to normal, "Derek". She said in a scared tone to her voice. "I'm here". Derek said to her.

The rest of the pack tried to rush over to them but Mae whipped her head around and yelled, "Stop!" The pack stopped dead in their tracks, not by their will but Mae's. She turned back to Derek and with a wave of her hand his binds were undone. Derek wrapped his arms around Mae and held her close, "You can fight this".

Mae sobbed and hugged him tight, "I can't for much longer". Mae sobbed again and pulled back, she took Derek's hand and led him to the Nemeton. "History needs to repeat itself Derek. If it doesn't then the darkness will destroy everything".

Derek looked at Mae and when he understood he said, "No, I can't. I won't". He understood what she meant by history repeating but he couldn't do that to her…not again. The struggle was evident in her eyes. It hurt her to keep the darkness at bay. Derek couldn't stand seeing Mae like that, it brought him back to that night with Paige. Derek hated that decision then and hated it now but he knew he had to, "Okay". Derek said to Mae before guiding her to the ground. Derek interlaced his hand with Mae's and said, "I love you Mae". Mae leaned into Derek and said, "I love you Derek". Derek then closed his eyes and tightened his grip around Mae; killing her the same way he killed Paige to spare her from any more suffering.

When Derek felt Mae's life leave her, he roared out in anger as the darkness seeped out of Mae and back into the Nemeton. The pack was released from the spell, or whatever that was, and they rushed over to Derek and Mae. Derek looked so numb as he held onto Mae. "History had to repeat itself". Scott said in realization in that moment, which made the others understand.

It didn't make anything easier for them but they understood. Ty felt like he was going to die and couldn't look any longer. Lydia went to the front of the group and crouched down in front of Derek and Mae, "Not her time". Was all she said and before Derek or anyone else could even ask what that meant, Mae gasped a breath of life. The Nemeton rewards its sacrifices, always.

Derek loosened his grip around Mae so she could breathe easier. He couldn't believe his eyes, nor could anyone else around them. Mae looked just as shocked as they did. "I wasn't expecting that". Mae said with a bit of a cough. Stiles scoffed in a 'ya think?' way before saying, "None of us were expecting that".

Ty just about collapsed in relief that Mae was alright. They were all very glad she was okay. Derek helped Mae to her feet as he said, "I thought I lost you again". Mae smiled, "You can't get rid of me that easily". Derek wrapped his arms around her and hugged her before the others did the same.

After Liam hugged Mae he asked, "Did you know that was going to happen?" Mae laughed lightly, "Honestly, no. I just hoped that since the Nemeton brought me back once that it'd do it again".

Scott, and the others, didn't like how risky that was but they weren't going to call her out on it then. She was alive and that was all that mattered. So, Scott just said, "Let's go home". Mae sighed because she knew she needed to process what had happened but would save that for tomorrow, "No argument here".

As the pack headed out of the woods, away from the Nemeton for hopefully the last time, Mae looked up at the sky. The full moon looked like any other. The redness had seeped away just as the darkness within her had, leaving behind nothing but the purity that was only meant to be there there.

(The End)