"I'm getting impatient," Theo drawled, tapping his foot insistently against the blood-encrusted laboratory floors. He expected Stiles's hope to at least be slightly dimmed by now but he's as stubborn as a mule when it comes to Derek.
Theo rolled his eyes at the thought. Of course. He's love-sick. And when Stiles is passionate about something, he sticks to it until he's exhausted every resource. With that in mind, Theo's scowl turned into a smile. It's one of the many reasons why Theo took so fast to the Sheriff's son. It'll also be fun to crush those silly affections toward the Hale mutt and properly redirect them to Theo.
"Subject has no progress," the Dread Doctor stated as Theo crossed his arms in slight boredom.
"What else is new," he muttered. He knew that Stiles, in whatever state of mind he may be in, will always find a way to make his life complicated, but Theo accepts it as part of the thrill.
"Master, do we move onto forceful extraction?" Theo weighed the question and ran his fingers through his hair in contemplation. He can only wait for so long before taking what's his, right?
"Yeah, let's go with that. I want him here within the next 24 hours without a scratch. I don't need to tell you what will happen otherwise, do I?" He flicked his wrist offhandedly, the Dread Doctor dissipating in a wisp of grey.
Stiles stared at the back of Derek's head as the pack all gathered in Scott's house. Stiles's not-so-best friend along with Kira, Isaac, and Lydia were going over plans to set up security perimeters around the school, the hospital and Sheriff's office since those locations seemed to be the most likely targets for whatever the Dread Doctors have to throw next. From what Stiles could hear, Lydia occasionally huffed a breath of annoyance whenever Scott or Kira spoke up and something told Stiles that the red head's bad temper was related to Eichen House.
Playing on the television screen, the Star Wars battle sequence seemed like a dull thrum in Stiles's ears. Derek, who was sat on the couch, rested his chin on his clasped hands, busying himself with his thoughts. Stiles stood up from his chair near the open dining room and slowly made his way to Derek, feeling a need to accompany the werewolf and lighten his mood despite their fight earlier that day in front of Eichen.
Stiles sighed as he took the spot right next to Derek, letting a beat of silence flow through them before breathing out, "I'm sorry. . .for blowing up on you."
"It's fine." Derek mumbled while lifting his head from his hands and looking at Stiles. "It's my fault for not being there at Eichen in the first place. I . . . prioritized wrong, which is stupid of me to do to my pack—my family. So I'm sorry too."
Truth be told, Stiles felt warmth bud through his body at Derek's confession; it was the first time since waking up in the middle of the preserve that the older man had said anything to him other than small complaints and offput commentary. That said, Stiles thought it best to take advantage of this open moment. Some may frown upon the idea of exploiting someone else's guilt, but Stiles believes that one should take into account the circumstances before judging. And right now? The whiskey-eyed boy sees no major harm in making a forward move after enduring Derek's hostility for the past several years.
His tongue started moving before he could finish his thoughts. "You know, the school annually holds this festival or carnival-like event down by the public pool center where there's dead grass nobody's bothered to—"
"What's your point, Stiles?" Derek interrupted. Though, the Alpha couldn't deny his slight amusement at the teen's babbling.
"It's coming up this Saturday and maybe we can have a pack night there, just to let loose, you know? Constantly being stressed out won't do us any good, especially if we want to make a solid plan to stop these sick bastards."
"I like the sound of that!" Isaac's peppy yell rang through the living room. It's sometimes easy for Stiles to forget that he's surrounded by teenage werewolves with supernatural hearing.
"C'mon Derek, please?" He made sure to keep his voice at a minimal whiny level. "Plus, we can keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary since the school is a definite hotspot for these guys."
After his plea, Stiles waited in anticipation, trying his best to imitate Scott's iconic puppy eyes but feeling slightly dismayed when Derek averted his eyes. Finally, he got a response. "Scott will have to agree." And he definitely will, Stiles will make sure of it.
"Yes! It'll be fun, I promise!"
The shrill bell signaled the end of another school day, thankfully with no hiccups for the pack. Stiles, Scott, and Isaac walked past their boisterous classmates in tense caution, knowing that anything could happen in the blink of an eye.
Yesterday, the entire pack agreed on meeting every day afterschool at Derek's loft to gather whatever information they could on these "Dread Doctors" and Dr. Valack. So that's exactly where the three boys were headed as they walked through the school's double doors, slightly taken aback by the stark burst of sunlight shining down on their faces. Scott juggled his helmet between his hands as they crossed the parking lot to the familiar green motorcycle and blue jeep, noting that Lydia's car was still there, as expected, since the girls insisted on staying behind to research in the school library.
Stiles broke the silence when Scott fastened the strap under his chin and swiped up his helmet visor. "I'm actually going to make a quick stop at the grocery store. If we're all going to be at Derek's for lord knows how long, we should have food stocked to avoid being at each other's throats. . .more so than usual."
Isaac nodded and popped open the jeep's passenger door. "I'll go with you."
With a salute, Scott sped out towards the preserve.