Derek was starting to think he was cursed. What else explains the fact that he has to fight monsters on a regular basis? Why else would he be walking down the damp streets of Paris while evading anyone who might have seen the wanted posters boasting a rough sketch of his face? Because of a curse. Only explanation.
Scowling behind the bandana he had tied around his nose and mouth—it served to keep him from being recognized and it muffled the stench—he tears the poster off the wall and lets it fall to the ground in a crumpled ball. He was half-tempted to pack his bags and run as far as his legs would take him. His conscious wouldn't let him do that, though, not when he had so much to repent for. An entire lifetime of guilt that he couldn't even remember beyond hazy nightmares and the searing heat of fire at his back.
He shakes off the guilt for a moment, shoulders squared as he continues to navigate the winding streets. He hadn't been in Paris in years, fourteen come next June if Cora's to be believed, but it hadn't changed too much in his absence. There was the half-finished Eiffel Tower, of course, but the little pub that catered to anyone with money was still open and his sister's house hadn't magically changed places, so there was nothing for him to complain about.
As though summoned by his thoughts, Cora stepped out of one of the darker alleys to block his way. "I told you not to follow me," he reminds her, forcing her to walk with him or get bumped into.
"You also told me Santa Claus was real, so how can I trust you?" His lips twitch in an amused smile, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. Cora, as usual, was dressed in her husband's clothes with her long hair hidden inside one of Isaac's hats, the brim wide enough to cast a deep shadow across her face. "What exactly are you hunting tonight?"
"Mad scientist."
"What has he done to make him wanted by the Vatican?"
"Awful things."
"Hmm, vague as always. This is why I feel the need to follow you, Der. It's the only way I get any answers."
"Does your husband know you're out?"
"Of course he does. He's scouring the other half of the city for any sign of our quarry." Derek rolls his eyes so hard he's only partly surprised when they don't fall out, his meddling sister making his job difficult at every turn. It was bad enough when she was his full responsibility, but now he had to deal with her nosey husband as well. "He'll be pleased to know what we're looking for."
"So go and tell him, then. While you're at it, tell him I said to drag you home and lock the door." She scoffs, dark eyes flashing yellow as moonlight hits her. It had been cloudy all evening, but now it seemed to be breaking up, revealing twinkling stars and a full moon that made Derek's neck itch. He resists the urge to shift and rolls his shoulders, constricted slightly by his heavy overcoat.
"D'you hear that?" They come to a stop in perfect unison, Derek trying to focus on what had captured his sister's attention. It took a moment to block out the usual sounds of houses settling for the night, but then he could make out the scream that was carried on the breeze. West, he realized immediately, fourth arrondissement. That was closer to Isaac and the howl that followed let Derek hone in on the wolf's position.
"Move fast, but don't shift." There's still the gendarme to worry about, patrolling the streets in groups in case they come across the fiend that's been killing people left and right. The last thing Derek needed was to worry about pulling bullets out of his little sister. Cora, as per the usual, seems to read his mind because she offers up no argument.
Relying on the supernatural grace that comes with being born wolves, the pair make it to Isaac's side in just under fifteen minutes. The other wolf, bitten by Derek after it was made plain that he never wanted to leave Cora's side, was kneeling over a body when they reached him.
"She was strangled," he informs them, straightening up with a half-chewed cigar pinched between his fingers. "The beast was going into the cathedral when I got here." He nods towards Notre-Dame, a sneer curling his plump lips downward. Isaac was a fine man, his blond curls spilling across his forehead haphazardly in a way Cora adored, muscles cording his lithe form after years of helping to build houses in the city. Derek wasn't fond of him, but he'd keep his mouth shut considering that Isaac made Cora happy. "What is that thing?"
"A man," Derek answers. "At least, he used to be. His name is Doctor Henry Jekyll." That's all Derek cared to give them, lips pressed into a grim line as he stares up at the darkened church. Cora and Isaac had been married there, pale skin turned pink as sunlight flooded through the rose window. "The Vatican wants him alive."
"Do you?" Derek says nothing, only heaving a deep sigh before starting forward. Isaac and Cora fell into step with him, one on either side as they entered the church. It was quiet inside, no Parisians to fill it with prayers this late at night. Cora crosses herself, mumbling a quick prayer of forgiveness under her breath for the fight that was about to happen. Derek would probably do the same if he was a religious man, but he's seen too much suffering to buy into the belief of an all-forgiving God.
He closes his eyes instead, focusing on the sounds of mice in the walls and, higher above their heads, heavy footsteps on creaking wood. "He's in the belfry, come on."
"One of these days, Derek, you'll meet someone just as stubborn as you are and they won't take kindly to you ordering them around."
"I've been reliably informed that no one is as stubborn as I am." Isaac snorts as they start up the stairs of the north tower. It was a long way up and the passage was narrow, but the three werewolves make it to the narrow walkway outside that will take them over to the south tower. "Be prepared for anything."
"He can't be any worse than you are in the mornings," Cora remarks with a dry smile.
"He casually tossed me through an entire farmhouse back in Yorkshire." She arches one fine brow in response and Derek has to fight every instinct in him to roll his eyes. After all, it would only lead to a ten minute lecture on how his face would stick that way if he did it too often. "You're coming anyway, aren't you?"
"Uh-huh."
"And you don't fully believe me, do you?"
"No, I believe you, I just don't care. Now, are we going to smuggle an abnormally large man into Italy or are we just going to admire the view of the Seine we get from all the way up here?" If Derek had any doubts at all whether sarcasm was a genetically inherited thing, Cora just cleared that right up for him. With a prim little sniff, she turns and leads the way into the south tower, the thick heels of her boots sounding too loud against the old floorboards.
Unlike the one they'd left behind, this tower looked as though no one had been inside it in years. Derek knew that wasn't accurate, of course, but the thick layer of dust covering everything wasn't doing anything to prove him wrong. The only things clean in the entire room seemed to be the three bells that were spaced out evenly, larger than Derek ever thought of them being. They'd been in the cathedral for twenty years now, the same age as Cora and just as loud on occasion.
The trio make it to a discarded gargoyle statue when Jekyll swings down to face them with a loud snarl, cigar trapped between nicotine-stained teeth. Derek prides himself on the fact that he didn't react, the larger man hanging upside down from one of the rafters. Cora, however, does react and her fist is barely an inch from Jekyll's nose before Isaac could latch onto her wrist.
"Ooh, two big ones and a little one," Jekyll observes, plucking the cigar out of his mouth. "A meal fit for a king, if I don't say so myself."
"Do you really want to have our lives on your conscious," Cora asks, snatching her hand back. "Why don't you go downstairs and confess, and we can all call this meeting finished?" Jekyll's chuckle vibrates through his chest, deep and rumbling as he swings upright so that he's hanging by one of his arms.
"Your friend hasn't told you much about me, has he? What's my tally up to now, Hale?"
"Twelve men, six women, four children, three goats, and an entire henhouse of chickens," Derek recites, tugging his bandana down. "Did I miss anything?"
"Not by my count." He holds up his right arm to show a bullet-sized hole in the bicep, moonlight shining through it. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but it wasn't healing either, which gave Derek some hope. "Got me pretty good in London, boy."
"And that was an off day for me. Imagine what I'm capable of when I'm focused and have two other people to assist me." The boards under his feet creak threateningly when Jekyll drops to the ground, standing a good foot and a half taller than him. "The Knights of the Holy Order have requested that I bring you in alive so that they can extricate your better half." He allows his gaze to slide from Jekyll's greasy hair to the cracked nails of his toes and back up again, distaste on display for all the world to see. "However, I'm not disinclined to the idea of bringing you back in pieces. If nothing else, they'll have your brain to study."
"I bet they'd love that." Jekyll puts the cigar out on his own tongue before popping it in his mouth like a child might do to a sweet, swallowing it without so much as a flinch. "And what about your little friends here? Do they have pretty red eyes as well?" Jekyll leaps up again and manages a neat flip that had him landing behind the wolves, snatching Cora's hat as he went.
"If they show you their eyes, then we'll have to kill you. Do you still want to see them?" Jekyll grins broadly, settling the hat on his head and fidgeting with it until it fit better than before. There was a thin scar that cut through the right side of his face, his eye a milky white from Derek's claws just last month. As Jekyll settled his gaze back on the pack, Derek prepared himself for the blow that was coming.
"An interesting proposition, but I have a different one." And, just as he'd been anticipating, one of Jekyll's thick arms swing outward without warning, catching Derek in the chest and sending him through the air until his back collided with one of the walls. The ringing of gunshots echoed in the tower, but not even Cora's impressive aim could slow Jekyll down as he sprinted across the room into darkness.
"Are you alright," Isaac asks, sparing Derek a brief glance.
"I will be," he grunts, getting back to his feet. "Where is he? Can you see him?" Isaac's eyes glow a bright blue for a moment, changing back to their usual darker hue when he turns to look at Derek again.
"In the back. Looks like he's tensing for another round."
"This round isn't over yet." Derek rejoins the others as Jekyll lets out another yell, appearing a second later as he swings from one rafter to another. Derek doesn't allow the shift to happen until Jekyll's too close to back away at the last minute, lunging up from the ground and letting his fangs sink into the tender flesh of the man's shoulder. With a howl of pain, Jekyll tangled his fingers in Derek's fur and tosses him aside like he weighed nothing, though he wasn't prepared for Cora and Isaac jumping on him directly afterward. Isaac lands on top of Derek right as the alpha got back to his feet, forcing him back to the ground with a surprised shout.
"No," Jekyll whines, almost on the verge of sobbing. Derek glances up to find his sister still clinging valiantly to the man's back, claws and mouth bloody while one of his arms withers and shrinks on the ground back to its original size.
"I'll bet that's upsetting." Jekyll growls low in his throat, reaching over his shoulder with his only remaining hand to get a good hold on Cora's coat, gripping it tightly as he spun once and threw her against one of the trapdoors that led to the roof. Because of how close it was and how much force he'd put behind the throw, the wood gave with a loud crack and took Cora with it outside.
"Cora," Isaac shouts, scrambling to his feet. He lunges forward to tackle Jekyll only to get batted aside like he was little more than a fly, forced to watch as Jekyll jumps up through the hole. Derek stands up, praying that this'll be the last time he's knocked to the ground, and begins to climb as well as he can. It takes a bit of finagling, but he manages to get on one of the rafters before jumping up and catching the edge of the hole, digging his fingertips into the damp wood. "Is she okay? Do you see her?"
Derek doesn't answer, pulling himself up and onto the roof before straightening up again. Jekyll was at the very edge of the cathedral, the claws of a grappling hook sticking out of a hole in his back while he stared down at something on the street. It didn't take a genius to understand what must have happened and Derek was sprinting even as he figured it out.
"Jekyll," he yells, tackling the man to the side a moment later.
"How wonderful," he crows, picking Derek up by the scruff of his neck. "The big brother's come to watch his baby sister die! You just sit here and wait your turn." He throws Derek aside and wraps his hand up in the wire, giving it a good yank to make sure it would hold before turning and running towards the other end of the tower.
Derek just waits, watching with a grim satisfaction when Jekyll overbalances and trips over the balustrade, his bulk acting as a counterweight that had Cora soaring back up onto the roof. She lands right beside Derek on the cold tiles, neither of them moving for a good while even as the sound of glass shattering reaches their ears.
It had been a short but tiring fight and he was looking forward to resting after he returned to the Vatican. His bed there was nothing to brag about and the food was even worse, but at least it was warm and only one person there would want to eviscerate him.
Cora rolls onto her side before sitting up and crawling over to the edge, Derek following her a second later. Pink and red glass was scattered on the pavement beneath Jekyll's shrunken form, the shards glittering in the moonlight in much the same way they did in the early morning.
"Deaton's going to kill you for letting Jekyll crash through the rose window," Cora informs him, dropping back to the roof as a crowd began to gather.
"Yeah, but at least Jekyll won't be causing any more problems."