"Are you sure he's here?" asked Stiles exasperated. Scott had never seen his best friend more furious.
"Of course I'm sure. I've followed his scent," answered Scott calmly, though worried. He could feel Stiles anger, and that was an emotion you could hardly ever see in him, which made him unpredictable, at best. "What do you want with him?"
"I want to kick the crap out of him, that's what I want," Stiles answered as he burst open the doors of the old Hale house. "Is he still living here?"
"No, he's not," said the unmistakable voice of Derek from the area that used to be the living room. It was uncanny how often the abandoned and burned house played host for all kinds of reunions, including some very bizarre ones. Stiles walked towards Derek, ready to punch him in the face, with a frown on his forehead. "Is there something wrong, Stiles?"
"You are so dead," he said as he clenched his fist. And he would have punched him, had he not known Derek would barely even feel it, and probably break all his bones in return. "After everything you've done to us! You had to go and take the only family I've got left!"
"Stiles, what the hell are you talking about?" asked Derek in total confusion.
"I'm talking about you flirting with my sister," he practically screamed at him. The Alpha could feel how angry Stiles was, but most of all, how desperate he was. All he wanted to do was to protect his only sister. But he didn't know that Derek had no idea who Stiles' sister was.
"I don't even know your sister," he said calmly. He did not want to ruffle any more feathers.
"Oh, spare me. I know you know exactly who she is."
"Stiles, I swear. I don't know…" he stopped abruptly. "Oh, Caroline. She is your sister."
"Yes, she is. The least you could have done was telling me the truth."
"Stiles, I swear to you. I had no idea," he claimed. "I had never seen her until the party. You know we had never met."
"Well, I don't believe you," he declared. "But it doesn't matter because now you know. So stay away from her!"
"I can't. Please don't ask me to do that, because I can't."
"You can't or you won't?" said Stiles irritated.
"Both," he said after a short pause. "I don't think you would understand. She's something special." He looked at the floor, as if he was sorry for falling for Stiles' sister. He did know how much they had been hurt because of him. He did not want to cause any of them more pain. But he also did not want to say goodbye to her when they had barely said hello. "You think I hadn't thought about leaving her? Everything I touch ends up broken. Even if she wasn't your sister, all I want is to keep her safe. But how can I leave her? I've never felt like this before. When she's away, all I can think about is seeing her. And when we're together, I have to use all my strength not to kiss her."
"I understand that. I've felt like that before. But I still don't want you near her."
"And what will you do to stop me?"
Derek was starting to feel angry too. It wasn't fair that Stiles was doing this to him. They were both looking at each other. Stiles fists were clenched again, and he was ready to fight. He knew against the wolf he didn't stand a chance. But he didn't care. His sister what all he had left, and he was not about to give up on her. He was willing to fight for her, die even. But so was Derek. And here they were. The weak little brother and the softy wolf in love. Both ready to tear each other apart to keep Caroline. Somebody had to knock some sense into these two idiots.
"Stop this," yelled Scott. "Look at you two. Ready to fight for someone who would be very disappointed if she saw this little scene. And by the way, don't you think it is her decision? Stiles, don't you care about her happiness? What if this is what she wants? I think she has a say in all of this. And Derek, are you sure killing Carol's only brother would get you closer to her? One scratch and she would never forgive you." They looked at each other, both knowing Scott was right. But they still weren't ready to let it go. After a long awkward pause of clenching fists and staring daggers at each other, Derek was the first to give up.
"Scott's right," he said. "Don't think that's easy for me to admit. But he is."
"I agree," declared Stiles. "And in all fairness, I did promise her I'd give you a chance. But that's a promise I never intended to keep. But I want her safe!"
"I understand. Perhaps I should back down. But can you at least let me try? If I see that things won't work, I'll let her go."
"All right. But you have to tell her the truth. Tell her what you are," demanded the boy. All this time, he hadn't told her anything about the supernatural world. He wanted to keep her out of it, to protect her. But he was willing to sacrifice that for her happiness. If she wanted to be with Derek, she had to do so knowing what she was getting into. "If you don't do it, I will."
"So tell me, how is him?" asked Molly while playing with her hair. She was laying on Caroline's sofa, as she often did after a long day's work.
"He's… mysterious," she answered. "I don't know how to describe him. To be honest, I don't know him that much."
"Well then, how is he physically?"
"Oh, he's incredibly hot. I mean, you have to see it yourself to believe it," she assured her, just as the bell rang.
"You didn't tell me you were expecting company," Molly complained.
"I'm not," guaranteed her friend.
Carol walked towards the door and opened the door. She was surprised to see Derek standing there, staring at her with the sweetest smile on his face. In his hand he was holding a bunch of beautiful flowers, which he handed to her. They were not the typical flowers you take to a girl. Not roses or the most common daisies. They were red and orange gerberas, Carol's favorite flowers in her favorite colors.
"Derek, they're beautiful! You shouldn't have bothered," she said cheerfully.
"It was no bother. I hope this doesn't sound bad, but it was Stiles that told me your favorite flowers, if you were wondering."
"Yes, actually I was," she said while looking at him. "I didn't know you knew my brother. Would you like to come in?" she asked him as she made way for him to enter.
"Yes," he said as he walked into the house. "I'm friends with Scott, actually. Kind of his mentor. And whenever Scott goes, Stiles usually goes too."
"Oh, yes," she said laughing as she closed the door. "It's true. Let me get this into water." She walked towards the kitchen and Derek followed her.
"Nice house. It's good to finally be able to come inside."
"Thanks," she said and smiled at him. Derek was a stream of emotions inside. His heart was beating madly, as it always did whenever she was near him. "Oh, I forgot Molly!" she suddenly remembered. "She's in the living. Come with me," she insisted.
Molly was of course waiting. She had heard their conversation and she knew she was about to meet the famous Derek. "About damn time," she thought. And then they walked in. Caroline had not lied to her. In fact, the whole description was an understatement. Not only he had a beautiful face, he had an amazing body. She stood there looking at him, trying not to be rude or too evident.
"You must be Molly," he said and extended his hand to her.
"That's correct," she stated as she shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you. I'd love to stay and chat, but I must be on my way."
"You don't want to stay?" asked Caroline, but only to be polite. She knew why her friend was leaving, and she was perfectly okay with that.
"Well, I told you I had to go. Things to do, you know." Of course she was lying. She wanted to leave them alone, and Carol knew it. And clearly she wasn't complaining. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she opened the door. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hale."
They both looked at each other. The situation was new to both of them, and they didn't quite know how to handle it. It was the first time they were alone in a room, and that was, not only awkward, but also very frightening because this would be a make or break point in their relationship. And it was worse for Derek because he had to tell her the truth now. He had promised Stiles.
"Is Stiles home?" he asked to break the ice. Though he knew where he really was.
"Actually, he's staying at Scott's tonight. That's happening a lot lately," she said, although Derek knew that already. Stiles had agreed to give them some space, so that Derek could figure out what was going on between them, and tell her the truth.
"Right," said Derek. He did not know how to start the "I'm a wolf" conversation. "So…"
"Derek," Caroline interrupted him. He hadn't realized she could sense the awkwardness. "What's going on? 'Cause I don't think I can pretend there's nothing wrong here. I know it, you know it. Let's talk about the elephant in the room."
"Well, the thing is I don't know how," he admitted. "I have to tell you something."
"So it's true, then. You haven't come here for small talk."
"I wish I had, but no," his eyes saddened. What he was about to tell her was very a delicate matter. And she could react in so many different ways. So it was scary. "This is going to sound very crazy, and you will probably hate me, and never want to see me again. Or it might be too mad and you won't believe me at all, and want me to stay away from you anyway. Either way, I have to tell you. I promised Stiles."
"My brother? What you're about to tell me, is this why he was so upset when he saw us the other night?"
"Probably," said Derek without a pause. "It's also why he almost punched me in the face."
"Did he, now?" She started laughing. That was so typical of him, trying to protect her at all costs, even if it meant fighting someone bigger and older than him. "Well, out with it. Tell me. Stop stalling and just tell me."
"Ok. But don't tell me I didn't warn you before." He took a deep breath and said "I am a werewolf."
