Author's Note: I just want to say thank you again for all of the kudos, support and comments. I'm glad that everyone is enjoying this. Sorry for the long time between chapters. RL and muse is quiet evil and at conflict with one another. Again, this is unbeta'd. Any major problems, please let me know and I'll edit it. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf.
Summary: Takes place after 2x08. Erica watches over Stiles.
Erica stands across the street from Stiles' house, unintentionally listening to the conversation between Stiles and his father.
"So, what happens now?" she hears Stiles ask, his voice filled with sorrow.
"Now? You get to bed. You have school in the morning," the sheriff replies.
Erica looks down, her eyes wet from unshed tears. She's heard the entire conversation and knows that it is the pack's fault, the secrets that Stiles and the rest of them are keeping that created the rift between father and son.
She hears Stiles head upstairs and enter his room. He collapses on his bed and the increase in his heartbeat indicates to her that he's trying to stop himself from crying but fails. Erica sits on cold ground and hugs her knees to her chest. Leaning against a tree, she listens to her Alpha's mate cry.
She's not sure how they will recover from this. Derek had taken Scott to Dr. Deaton's with Isaac, the other Alpha had been exposed to a vapor form of wolfs bane. On one hand, Erica's glad that it was Scott not Derek or Isaac but she knew that was selfish. Scott and Stiles have become pack, Stiles more so since she found out that he and Derek were mates.
She didn't hear Derek approach until he sits down next to her. He put an arm around her and pulls her close. He hold her in the dark of the night across from his mate's house, comforting her as an alpha should.
After some time, she pulls away from him and stands. "Thank you."
Derek stands up as well and he looks at her for a moment before saying, "Go home. Isaac is watching over Scott tonight at Deaton's."
She nods in response and turns to walk away but before she can leave, Derek grabs her arm. "Be careful. Don't take any chances, Erica. We have hunters and the kanima after us."
She nods again and when Derek lets go of her arm, she walks away. After only a few feet away from Derek, she turns around and sees Derek walking toward Stiles' house then climb up to and through his window.
She breathes in deeply, calming herself and tries to focus on one sense. She hears the chirping of the crickets, the dog barking the next house over, the sheriff snoring and finally narrows in on Derek's movements.
She hears him move to Stiles' bed, the blankets shifting as he sits down near Stiles and gathers him in his arms. Closing her eyes, she listens in more attentively to the words exchanged between the two lovers.
"He's no longer sheriff," Stiles whispers. His heartbeat skips and Erica assumes that it was from something that Derek did.
She doesn't hear Derek's reply instead she knows that it was comforting because Stiles' heartbeat was calmer. She hopes to hear more but knows now, after many lessons, that Stiles has fallen asleep. So she concentrates on Derek and hears the honest whisper of "I love you".
Erica opens her eyes and finds herself assaulted by different sounds from her surrounding, concentrating too much on one can do that. She smiles slightly before turning back around and running home. Her desire to guard Stiles is still there but she knows that no one can protect him better than Derek, his own mate.