Hello again! So I didn't get the amount of reviews I wanted, but that's okay. This is a much more exciting chapter, and Derek finally makes his big appearance! And one thing I forgot to mention was that Derek is still an alpha! Enjoy! :)
*Present*
Derek Hale dropped down to the floor from his pull-up bar. He landed in a crouching position with one hand on the floor. Slowly, he straightened his spine and raised his head. His usual green eyes were replaced with blood-red orbs, showing off his alpha status.
"Always the one who has to be so dramatic, aren't you?"
With a roll of his eyes, Derek stood up and turned around to face the speaker. Leaning against the doorway was Derek's still somewhat psychotic uncle, Peter. The smirk on his face irritated the alpha and he shoved down the urge to smack it off. Fortunately with many years of training, Derek was able to control his emotions.
"What do you want, Peter?" Derek snarled.
Peter scratched the side of his nose. "Well, for starters, I'd appreciate it if you put on a shirt. I know you take pride in your body, but come on. Show some class for your guests."
Derek glared at his uncle for a bit before walking over to the couch on the other side of the room. He grabbed the black shirt draped over the couch and pulled it over his head. Muscles rippled underneath the sheer material as Derek stretched out his arms.
"There. Now again, what do you want?"
"No need to be so snappy, Derek," Peter said, striding over to his nephew, "I just came to chat and see how everything's going."
"I'm sure you did," Derek grumbled.
"What? I can't just check up on my nephew to make sure he's doing fine?"
The alpha turned around to face Peter with a raised eyebrow. "Not unless you want something from me or want to just interrogate me. I'm not stupid."
Peter raised his hands in surrender. "You got me. I'm more interested in your pack. Or more lack of."
"You mean Isaac?"
"Would you really consider Isaac one of yours anymore?" Peter scoffed, "I think it's safe to say that he's with Scott now. No offense, but you haven't proven yourself to be a great leader. You know, breaking your pack's bones, throwing things at them, kicking them out, sleeping with the Darach, killing Boyd-"
"You know, for someone who murdered his niece for the alpha title and turned a teenager against his will," Derek interrupted, "you have no right to criticize me and the way I run things. So if there's a little point to your speech, get to it."
"All I'm saying is that you shouldn't be counting on just one beta when it doesn't even look like he's on your side anymore. It's time to look for some new recruits. And you need to start looking fast. You never know what's coming."
Derek shrugged on his leather jacket. "Well we got rid of the Nogitsune and Oni. It's been over two months now and there's no sign of any threats. We should be fine."
"I'd expect you to be more on top of your game, Derek," Peter said as he stepped closer to his nephew, "Things can just pop up when you least expect them. You shouldn't be sitting around your loft unprepared for anything that comes your way."
Peter had a point. It wasn't something Derek would admit out loud, but his uncle was right. This was Beacon Hills. Weird shit is always thrown at them unexpectedly. And Derek would be the one to train his pack to the point of blood, sweat, and tears and take whatever precautions necessary. That meant stalking around the town to inspect anything out of the ordinary.
But honestly, Derek was exhausted. The problems in Beacon Hills had been nonstop for a year now. This was actually the longest they have gone without anyone being attacked. Like Derek had mentioned, there have been no threats from anyone lately and it truly seemed that it was going to stay that way for a while. Derek just wanted to take the time he had been blessed with and not stress. There was so much tension in his mind and body that had been building up for the past year that he really needed to get rid of. And with Erica and Boyd dead, Cora in South America, and Isaac most likely joining forces with Scott, he had no one else. Well, besides Peter, but no one even knows what the hell goes on in his mind. Even though he may be blood, Derek would never forgive him for killing his sister Laura and would never accept him as his pack. He did need to start searching for new people to join him, but Derek wasn't in a rush for anything.
As Derek was about to speak, a distant howl cut through the air. Both Hale men were taken aback by the sound. They turned to the window where they could see the pouring rain and even a bit of the woods.
"You heard that too, right?" Peter asked.
"Yeah," Derek nodded his head.
"What was it?"
The alpha shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. It didn't sound like either Scott or Isaac. It sounded more… feminine."
One of Peter's eyebrows quirked up. "Ah, an omega." He turned to his nephew. "So much for no threats, huh?"
"Shut up," Derek told him, "I'm going out there to see who it is. Stay here in case anyone comes."
Peter gave him a two-finger salute. "Sure thing, captain." Derek rolled his eyes before leaving the loft.
The rain was coming down hard on Derek. His black shirt and jeans were clinging onto his body. His black hair was now matted down and was sticking to his forehead. Derek just ignored it as he ran out into the woods to find who was howling. He stopped by a tree and waited to hear whoever was out there would howl again so he could get a better sense of where they were.
Then he heard another how, which sounded like whoever it was, was frightened. This time it sounded a lot closer and it was much easier to detect where it came from. Derek took off again. It only took him a couple of minutes to find them and he skidded to a halt when he did.
Hiding behind a tree was a dark brown wolf. Around its neck was a necklace with a dream catcher hanging from it. Its fur was sopping wet from the rain, which caused the wolf to shiver. Or it could've been because it was scared of something. Derek took one step closer and the wolf retreated, whimpering as it did so.
Derek immediately grew a weak spot for the creature, which was completely out of character for him. Normally he found anything and anyone that he wasn't familiar with a threat, but it looked harmless. If anything, the wolf most likely thought that Derek was the dangerous one.
"Hey," the alpha said softly, going down on one knee, "What are you doing out in the rain?" He held his hand out, making the wolf flinch again. It made Derek's heart clench when it backed away from him. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me."
The wolf stared at Derek's hand for a few moments before looking back up at his face. Derek's eyes weren't as cold and emotionless as usual. Instead they showed nothing but compassion and sorrow. After a while, it hesitantly walked from behind the tree and over to Derek. It nuzzled its head into his hand and he stroked the soaked fur. He heard it whine, but it sounded… happy. Like Derek's touch was the solution to its problems.
"You're an affectionate thing, aren't you?" Derek chuckled as the wolf rubbed its face against his chest, "I wonder where you came from…"
"Well, isn't this sweet."
Derek turned around and growled when he saw three hunters standing above them. Guns were in their hands and menacing grins crept up on their faces. The wolf hid behind Derek and he felt it shaking.
"Leave now and we won't have any issues," Derek warned.
"How nice of you," the hunter in the middle said sarcastically, "but honestly, where's the fun in that?"
The hunter on his let nodded his head towards the brown wolf. "Also your friend over here would make a beautiful throw rug on my floor."
Once again, Derek growled at the threat towards the wolf. "Over my dead body."
Aiming his gun at the two on the ground, the last hunter flashed his yellow teeth with a grin. "That can easily be arranged."
He fired the gun at them, but Derek was quick to react and pounced on the wolf. They rolled out of the way and the bullet barely missed them. Derek got up and swiped his claws at the hunter's chest. At this point, Derek had fully shifted into his red eyes, elongated ears, and sharp fangs. The hunter groaned in pain and the alpha took this opportunity to grab him by the shirt and throw him against a tree. His back hit the rough exterior and he landed in the dirt with a thud.
When Derek wasn't looking, the taller hunter whacked him in the head with the butt of his gun. It caused Derek to be slightly dizzy and the hunter kicked his back. The werewolf fell on his back, wincing in pain as he landed on a sharp rock. A heavy boot pressed against his neck which cut off his air supply. The hunter pointed his gun at Derek and was about to shoot until the brown wolf jumped on him and tackled him to the ground. It was obvious that the wolf had never fought anyone before because as soon as it pounced on its opponent, it retracted its claws and refused to hurt him, even though he was the enemy. He took advantage of this and shoved the wolf off of him. He then aimed his gun and fired. The wolf was shot in the leg and it yelped out in pain as it collapsed on the ground. Derek immediately smelled blood and he turned to his new companion who was now whimpering and writhing on the ground.
Now the alpha was pissed. Derek grabbed the hunter that had shot the wolf and head-butted him harshly, knocking him out cold. He tossed him to the side like a rag doll. There was now only one hunter left standing. He punched Derek in the jaw, causing him to stagger back a bit, but it didn't throw him off so much. When the hunter swung his fist again, Derek ducked down and impaled his claws in the guy's stomach. It wasn't deep enough to kill him, but it was enough to distract him. Derek then grabbed the back of his head and slammed it against the tree. The hunter was now unconscious and he slumped down next to the others.
Derek made sure that the hunters weren't going to be waking up anytime soon before going back to check on the wolf. But when he turned around, he was surprised to find a woman in place of the wolf. A beautiful woman, in fact. Her long dark hair was limp and soaked and her bronze nude body was also sleek with water from the rain that Derek had completely forgotten was still occurring. The dream catcher necklace was still intact around her neck. If he had to guess, Derek would say that she was probably the same age as him, if not younger. She had her back pressed against the same tree she was hiding behind earlier as she clutched onto her bleeding thigh. When she opened her eyes, Derek noticed that they were red from crying so hard. He quickly made his way over to her and kneeled in front of her. The poor girl was shivering from the cold and her lips were turning blue so Derek pulled off his jacket and carefully helped her put it on so she wasn't completely naked.
"Here," he said to her, "I know this won't help much, but it's better than nothing. I don't want you freezing to death." The girl nodded her head but gritted her teeth as pain shot up her leg. She looked up at Derek like a lost puppy.
"What's happening to me?" she cried, "Why am I not healing?"
The alpha looked down at her leg and saw black blood oozing out of her wound. Black veins crept up her thigh, which was a sight Derek was all too familiar with. He cursed underneath his breath.
"You were shot by a bullet laced with wolfsbane," he told her, "If we don't get it out and do something about it as soon as possible, you'll be dead in forty-eight hours."
"What?!" She began to hyperventilate and shake her head from side to side. "No, no! I don't wanna die. I can't die. I don't-"
Derek hushed her and placed a hand on her cheek. "I'm not gonna let you die, I promise. Just take deep breaths and calm down. Can you stand?"
"Uh, I can try…" She placed one hand on the tree and slowly slid herself up. When she tried to push away, the pain in her leg grew worse. "Ah!"
Before she could fall, Derek caught her by the waist. He then instructed her to wrap her arms around his neck. She did as she was told and he picked her up so he was now carrying her bridal-style.
"Whatever you do, don't let go," Derek said, looking down at the girl in his arms, "Okay?"
Hesitantly, she nodded her head. "I trust you."
That was all he needed to hear for him to start sprinting back to his loft. Luckily it was very late at night so no one was outside. Derek didn't have to worry about anyone seeing him with a naked girl in his arms. But even when he entered the building, she was still shaking and her teeth were chattering. The alpha had only his body heat to rely on to keep this girl warm, even though he was still wet from the rain himself.
When he reached the door to his loft, he kicked it a few times since his hands were unoccupied at the moment. "Peter!"
Said man slid the door open and his eyes widened at the practically nude girl in his nephew's arms. Derek pushed past him and ran over to the table by the large window. He set the girl down on the table and pushed her hair back.
"What the hell-"
"Grab the bag of the wolfsbane bullets and bring them to me now," Derek ordered, "She's been shot and the poison's traveling through her body a lot faster than it's supposed to. Hurry!"
Peter ran to the closet and searched through it frantically. Derek grabbed the girl's hands to take her pain away. Black lines traveled up his arm, making him slightly cringe when her pain traveled to his body. When she realized what he was doing, she tried to pull her hands away and he just gripped them tighter.
"What the fuck is taking so long?" Derek yelled at his uncle.
"All of these lights aren't working," Peter said, "They're all out of fire."
"There should be one in the junk drawer in the kitchen. Go look."
As Peter did so, the girl looked at Derek with wide eyes. Her brown orbs reminded the alpha of a puppy, which was a bit funny since she was a creature of the night.
"What are you gonna do to me?" she whimpered.
"Right now I need to get this bullet out." He let go of one of her hands and let his claws out. "You might want to keep holding onto my hand."
Then his index finger and thumb dug into her wound. She cried out as his fingers moved around and she squeezed onto Derek's hand as tightly as she could. The girl had quite a grip, but it was nothing Derek couldn't handle. He finally found the bullet and pulled it out.
Right as he tossed it on the table, Peter ran in with a lighter and a duffel bag. Derek unzipped the bag and pulled out one of the wolfsbane bullets Chris Argent had left him just in case a situation like this ever happened. After biting the cap of the bullet off, Derek dumped out the gunpowder onto the table. He then lit it on fire and waited until smoke rose from the powder before scooping it up.
"This is going to hurt," Derek told the girl sympathetically, "I'm so sorry."
Like ripping off a Band-Aid, he pressed the contents of the bullet into her wound. Her brown eyes switched to a golden color as she screamed in agony. Her body twitched as if she was being possessed. Peter had to physically hold Derek back so he wouldn't rush to her rescue, no matter how hard he fought. The bullet had to work its magic for the girl to heal despite the great pain it caused. It was just unbearable for Derek to even watch.
But luckily for him, it didn't last long. After a minute or so, the wound finally closed up and she stopped screaming. Her breath was coming out in short pants as she tried to calm herself down. Derek pulled out of Peter's grip and helped the girl sit up on the edge of the table.
"How are you feeling?" he asked her.
"What just…" she trailed off, looking back and forth from her now healed thigh to the empty bullet, "How did you know that would work?"
"Last year, the same thing happened to me," Derek explained, "and I remember my sister Laura being in the same situation one time. I watched my mother perform this procedure on her. She explained how it all worked step by step and it just stuck with me."
"Wow…" she breathed out. She looked up at Derek and gave him a small smile. "That was pretty amazing. Thank you."
Derek nodded his head curtly. Yes, she made his heart soften more than she should, but he was still an alpha. He had to keep up the tough exterior that he worked so hard to build. Also, Peter was still there and the last thing he needed was for the annoying man to give him more shit for his leadership role.
Speaking of his uncle, he cleared his throat to break Derek and the girl from their staring contest.
"Well now that everything seems to be taken care of," Peter said, "I think it's time for me to head on out. I'll see you tomorrow, Derek." With that, he left the loft with a slam of the door.
The girl pointed to the door. "Who was that man?"
"Unfortunately, my uncle, Peter," Derek answered, glaring at the door.
"Ah," she nodded her head, "And your name is… Derek?"
He nodded his own head. "That's right. What about you? What's your name?"
She tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear as she gazed into Derek's eyes. It caught her off guard a little. She couldn't tell what color his eyes were at all. They were too light to be hazel but she wasn't sure that they were green either. Still, they were gorgeous.
"I'm Faline. My name is Faline."
That was a name Derek had never heard before. But it was very beautiful, especially for a girl as beautiful as her. And for once, Derek wasn't afraid to admit that.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Faline." He stuck his hand out to her.
"And it's nice to meet you too, Derek," she giggled and shook his hand, which was much larger and warmer compared to hers. Derek cringed when he felt how cold her hand was.
"Shit, you must be freezing," he said, "Let me go get you something to wear."
Faline grabbed his hand before he could walk away, and Derek didn't miss that spark from when she touched him. "Um, actually, do you mind if I wash up? It's just that I've been out for so long that I haven't had a chance to properly clean myself."
"Yeah, sure," Derek said, "Come with me and I'll show you where the bathroom is."
The alpha helped Faline down from the table since she was still a bit shaky before leading her to the bathroom. He pulled out a black towel from the cupboard underneath the sink and placed it on top. Derek then showed Faline how the shower worked since she was looking at it like it was an alien. The confused look on her face was pretty cute, to be honest.
"I think that's it," Derek said, "And there's stuff in there to wash yourself with. Is there anything else you need?"
"No, I'm sure I have everything," Faline smiled, "Thank you again."
Derek nodded his head. "Of course." Then he left the wolf to do her business and shut the door behind him.
As Faline showered, Derek was grabbing extra blankets from the closet and set them up on the bed. It grew cold in the loft at night so he wanted to make sure his guest would be as warm as possible. Derek then made sure that the windows were closed so there wasn't any breeze. He was sure that he wasn't going to need anything that but he grabbed a pillow and a blanket for himself and threw them on the couch just in case.
He had been setting things up for Faline for about twenty minutes and she had yet to come out of the bathroom. Derek went back up to his room and changed out of his damp clothes to a pair of black sweatpants and a white wife-beater. That was when Derek realized that he never gave Faline anything to change into for when she got out of the shower. He pulled a pair of boxers and a navy blue t-shirt for Faline.
"Hey, Derek, what-"
Said man turned around and Faline accidentally bumped into his hard chest. Derek didn't even hear the shower turn off or the girl exit the bathroom. But she was now standing in front of him with the black towel wrapped around her body.
"Oh! I'm sorry about that," she apologized, blushing a bit.
Derek shook his head as he refrained from staring at the trail of water that dripped in between her cleavage. "It's alright. I, um… I was about to go give these to you right now."
"I was just going to ask for these too," Faline giggled. She looked up at Derek and bit her bottom lip. "Umm…"
His eyes widened at the realization. "Oh! Right. Uh, sorry." He turned around so his back was facing Faline.
She giggled at how bashful Derek was being as she pulled the towel off of herself. After tossing it on the bed, she grabbed the boxers and t-shirt and put them on. The shirt came all the way down to her knees and she had to adjust the boxers so they wouldn't fall down, but Faline found them to be extremely comfortable, especially for going years without having any clothes. Satisfied, she gave Derek the 'okay' to turn back around.
"Let me take that for you," he said, picking up the used towel and tossing it in the hamper.
"This is a very nice home you have," Faline said as she looked around the loft. She sat down on the bed and bounced on it a little. "And your bed is really comfy."
"It's nothing special, really," Derek said, trying to get the image of Faline in bed in a provocative way out of his mind, "But I'm glad you like the bed because this is where you'll be sleeping."
Faline's eyes widened. "But this is your bed. Where will you be sleeping?"
"On the couch," Derek answered, gesturing to the furniture.
The female wolf looked back down at the bed and quickly stood up. "I can't take your bed. I should be the one on the couch."
"No," Derek told her, "You've been through enough tonight and I'm not letting you sleep on some lumpy couch that'll be uncomfortable on your back. Take the bed."
"Are you sure?"
"I insist."
Looking up at the alpha, she saw that his eyebrow was raised and he wasn't going to back down on his word. Faline smiled shyly. "Okay. If you really insist." She slipped under the covers and lied down on her back. A content sigh escaped her mouth as she placed her hands behind her head. "This feels nice."
Derek couldn't help but chuckle. "Comfortable?"
"Very. Boy, it's been forever since I've been in an actual bed."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I've been sleeping in random dens for a while and let me tell you, those rocks are not as comfortable as they look."
"Dens?" Derek was now genuinely concerned. "Faline, did you not have a home?"
The smile on Faline's face faltered as she thought about the past years out on her own. She pushed herself up so her back was against the wall. Patting the spot in front of her, Faline gestured Derek to sit down on the bed. Hesitantly, he sat on the edge and waited for her to share her story.
"Can I tell you something?" she asked Derek. He nodded his head. "This is the first time I've been a human in a long time."
"How long?"
"Ever since I was five."
"And how old are you now?"
Faline pursed her lips as she thought about it. She mumbled to herself and counted with her fingers. "I'm pretty sure I'm twenty-one… Yeah, that sounds about right."
Derek's eyes grew wide. "You've been living as a wolf for sixteen years?"
"Yep," Faline said, "and I haven't shifted once since. I was pretty confused when I turned human when that hunter shot me though."
"Pain makes you human," the alpha told her, "My uncle Peter told me that when I was a teenager and he was teaching me how to control my shift."
"Your uncle is a smart man."
"I guess he is… in his own fucked up way, I suppose," Derek mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, what were you doing out there?"
The girl shrugged her shoulders. "Looking for a place to sleep. But the rain freaked me out and I couldn't find a den so I just hid behind a tree to avoid hunters. I was going to wait until it cleared up before I started looking again. We both know that things didn't turn out as planned though." She chuckled lightly.
But Derek wasn't laughing. There was nothing funny to him about Faline almost getting killed.
"You're an omega," he said. She nodded her head. "You've been alone for all this time, haven't you?"
The smile on her face was now faltered into a full-on frown. "Yeah. Yeah, I have."
"What happened to your pack?"
"Hunters," Faline answered, "They poisoned our house with wolfsbane and everyone got sick and started dying. Then we found out that it was happening to all of the werewolves in Mexico so my mama and I packed up our things and left."
'Like the Black Plague,' Derek thought to himself. He was about to voice that thought out loud but then he remembered that Faline would have no idea what he was talking about.
"Where's you mom?"
"Gone." A tear rolled its way down Faline's cheek but she wiped it away as soon as she felt it. Derek noticed this and placed his hand on her knee.
"I didn't mean to upset you. I shouldn't have been asking so many questions."
Faline shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It was a long time ago. And I expected you to ask me a lot of questions. I am sleeping in your home after all."
"I just wanna make sure you stay safe."
Derek's own response surprised him and he immediately thought that he was being too forward and honest. Way too honest than usual. It caught Faline off guard also but a smile gradually graced her features.
She placed her hand on top of Derek's and squeezed it lightly. "I think I'm in good hands here." Derek smiled back at her. Again, not a usual thing for him to do. And he didn't even remember the last time he genuinely smiled. But it felt good. Faline yawned and covered her mouth. "Excuse me."
"No, it's no problem," Derek said as he stood up, "I should let you get some sleep. You've had a crazy night tonight."
The she-wolf laughed. "Yeah, you're right. I can't thank you enough for helping me with the hunters and the wolfsbane. I don't even know what I would've done without you."
"I was at the right place at the right time," Derek shrugged, not really used to being praised highly.
"I suppose. But I'm still glad you were though."
Then Faline sat up and kissed Derek's cheek. It was so quick that he thought he just imagined it. But he then saw Faline blushing and felt his cheek tingling a bit. She smiled at her savior.
"Goodnight, Derek."
Too stunned to even respond, Derek watched Faline snuggle back underneath the thick blankets. Poor thing was so tired that she was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow. One of her curls fell in front of her face and Derek tucked it behind her ear as if it was a normal thing for him to brought him comfort that he was providing Faline the peace and security she needed after running for her life for so long. She was now his responsibility.
He wouldn't let her go back out there. Not as an omega. Faline's chances of getting killed were too high, and Derek would rather die himself than risk her life. He vowed right then from there on out that he would protect her with all his life.
Derek walked over to his makeshift bed on the couch and lied down. But he didn't fall asleep right away. Instead he kept his gaze on the girl on his bed. Even Derek had to admit that it was kind of creepy for him to do, but he didn't want to look away. It was almost as if she would disappear if he fell asleep. Eventually, his eyes grew heavy and then he drifted off into slumber.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! If Derek's a little too OOC than you like, I apologize but I really like the sweet side of him and I hope you do too.
PLEASE review and let me know what you think! Reviews are my motivation to keep writing so hopefully I receive more reviews (at least ten) than I did on the first chapter. Also, send in some questions about this story or any of my other upcoming stories (summaries are on my profile)! I love to hear what you have to say!
And if you haven't, please check out my other two stories 'Awake and Alive' and 'Scars'!
I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)
