Authors note: Thank you for your favorites, follows and reviews. You lovely people you! Alright then - Let's go
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Chapter 11
As it turned out, Devlin Harrington was in fact 201 years old and had lived with James Harrington as his life-partner/ husband for over 150 years. According to the woman Stiles had talked with over the phone, James and Devlin had spent every minute of their days together. At least until Devlin became reluctant to killing people.
Stiles met up with rest of the pack at Derek's loft to tell them what he had dug up about the vampires.
"So this James dude wasn't that keen on changing his habit of draining people. But Devlin was. I kinda get that after a couple of decades, it could get tiring. Anyway: He grew tired of being someone people feared as he chased them down for their blood. He and James ended up having awful fights over Devlin's change of heart, refusing to kill what he ate. He wished to lay low on the radar, wanted something different from their life than killing all of those people. According to this Shawna Branson that I talked with, Devlin wanted to settle down, at least for decades at a time. It was over those differences that they had ended up parting ways and hadn't talked together since." Stiles bit his lip in thought.
He wasn't so sure if they'd never talked after they had split up. Maybe they really had grown tired of each other and hadn't talked in what? 30 years or so?
That was what Shawna Bronson claimed to be the truth. She was a banshee he had tracked down, who lived in Kansas of all places. Stiles knew Lydia had added her phone-number. They had a lot in common after all.
This Shawna-lady had met Devlin and James around the time they had started getting into arguments about their lifestyle.
"So if he was a 178 years old back when Deaton met him, James is about 197 years old now. Shit, this is insane." He ran a hand through his already unruly hair, making it stick up even more. "Devlin settled down as a professor in Kansas before moving around, not to attract any attention to his you know, not aging thing. And now he has ended up being my professor. And-" he paused, putting a cap back on his pen "-from what I found in the schools records, he's been working there for two years. He might have a while left before he'd be forced to move so someone doesn't find it weird that he's not aging"
He looked at the rest of the pack, who was perched on the couches. Except for Derek, of course, who was looking out the window.
Stiles put his hands behind him, leaning back against the table in front of the big windows. "And that means that they've been apart for over 20 years. So why did James come back now? How did he find Devlin?" He held up a hand, gesticulating as he let his thoughts run wild. "Did he contact him? If that; who contacted who? Why now? If not, how did James know where to look for him? Why kidnap Yelena?" He looked over to Derek, who was now walking to stand next to him. "We need to talk with Yelena"
"Why?"
Erica got up from her place next to Boyd. "We need to find out what exactly happened while she was kidnapped. If she saw James, how often, and with who. There was more than one kidnapper, James had the other one helping him. So we need to talk to her because that other guy is dead." She looked at Stiles. "Don't we?"
Stiles smiled at her, but looked grim. "Yeah. We do. She was.. raped and tortured. What we need to know is; who did what. The other vampire- what was his name?" He turned to Derek, but he shook his head.
"I never bothered to ask his name. It wasn't important."
Stiles nodded, tapping the pen against his other palm. "Emma probably doesn't know either." He pulled out a chair and opened his laptop. "I should send the professor an e-mail. Ask for a meeting or something. Take him by surprise by my questions"
Lydia looked up from her phone. "Wasn't the vampire's name Frank? Scott said he thought that was his name" She was ignored by both Derek and Stiles when Derek crossed his arms, glaring at Stiles.
"You're not going there alone" Derek stated.
Stiles stopped typing. "Wh- what? So you think I can't handle having a conversation with my professor?" He blinked rapidly. "Dude, listen. He's not going to hurt me or anything, not on campus" Derek didn't exactly look like he believed that statement. "He can't risk it. He's been working there for two years and claims to want to live there in peace. So I don't see him wanting to risk that over a few more questions. The guy is slippery and can avoid my questions if he doesn't want to answer without attacking me."
"No"
"Dude"
"I said no Stiles. Not on your own you're not"
"Dude!"
"Take Scott with you. Or Isaac" Derek looked at his betas. "And Erica an-"
Stiles made an angry sound low in his throat, cutting Derek's words off. "I have to meet him. I have to get some answers and he's most likely to talk with me. He knows me better than he knows any of the rest and he might actually answer me honestly if I come without a whole bunch of werewolves"
Derek sighed. "I'll call Emma and arrange a meeting with Yelena."
Derek looked at his pack, settling on Scott. "If we're on to James, he might be on to us as well. And if he connects us with Deaton there might be a chance that he could attack. Vampires' are a lot like werewolves like that. They don't want outsiders to know more about them than strictly necessary. He could be trying to find out what we know." He looked over at Boyd who stepped closer to his friends. "Don't go by your selves. Even the wolves. I don't want anyone taking any chances. A vampire that old can be extremely dangerous."
They nodded, obviously getting how serious this had gotten all of a sudden. Derek never wanted his pack to be in danger. Up to this point they had taken out everyone or everything that threatened them or Beacon Hills. But they had never seen vampires before. Until a few years ago, even Derek hadn't known about their existence. If it hadn't been for Stiles and his never ending research and for pushing Deaton into opening up a little, this would have come as a complete surprise.
The thought that Stiles had gone over a month without knowing that his professor in fact was a vampire didn't sit well with Derek. His first priority was to keep his betas and pack safe. So when he had smelled the vampire, he had recognized the scent from his meeting with an alone vampire last year. The scent was unmistakable with its sour but yet sweetened smell. It smelled like coldness and reminded Derek of faintly old fruit for some odd reason.
Derek shook of his thoughts and turned back to Stiles, who was typing rapidly. He noticed the pen dangling from Stiles mouth and he snatched it out before even thinking about it.
"Hey!" Stiles stopped typing and turned his head to look at Derek before glancing back at the screen. "I asked him to meet me after class on Tuesday" He grinned. "I added a note about meeting at the library, that way Scott and the others can stay near without hanging over us. So you can chill your nerves while I still can do it my way. See- I can compromise. High five" He held up his hand but Derek just shook his head before walking over to the others. "Oh, come on. Don't be such a party-pooper"
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After spending all Saturday at Derek's loft, Stiles met up with his dad at home and hung out with him on Sunday until Scott picked him up. They had to get back to Monday-morning classes.
Yesterday they had found out a little bit more about James Harrington, but even Deaton couldn't give them anything more than he already had e-mailed Stiles. What he had given them was an advice to tread carefully. If James Harrington was anything like the man he had met nineteen years ago, he was both cunning and held no respect for anyone. Not even Deaton had managed to contain him for long back then.
From what Stiles gathered, Deaton had been asked by Talia Hale to hold him captive until she got there, but James had slipped out of his grasp mere seconds before Talia and her pack had arrived. If he hadn't escaped, he hadn't been alive today.
Stiles swallowed hard just thinking about him. The vampires he had met so far were more creepy than anything. But if he was both creepy and an extremely dangerous 200 year old vampire looking for trouble..
"So, when is Scott picking you up?"
A knock on the door interrupted Stiles' answer and he smiled. "That's my ride. Alright, dad. I guess I'll see you in a month or so. If not, we always have Christmas. I might come home for a weekend though, it's not that long a drive." He gave his dad a hug before picking up his bags.
"Drive safe, son. Call me when you get there"
"Sure, dad. Take care, alright? And I'll know if you don't eat some of the food I made and froze. You can just use the microwave and don't forget to eat some fruit. Apples and bananas are healthy. Bacon is not and-"
"Stiles. I am the father in this scenario and you're supposed to get this speech from me. Not the other way around" He followed Stiles up to the front door.
Stiles hoisted his bag for a better grip. "But I mean it; apples and bananas-" he opened the door "-are good. Tofu is good. Bacon- not so much"
"Mr. Hale. You here to see Stiles' off?" the Sheriff asked and Stiles stopped his rant with a loud click of his mouth.
"Sheriff" Derek looked at Stiles. "You ready to go?"
"You're coming with us?" Stiles asked in surprise.
"Emma set up a meeting with Yelena. Tomorrow."
"Oh" He looked between Derek and his dad. "But that's a good thing, right? So we'll have those answers before I meet with Harrington."
The Sheriff frowned. "Are you going on a date, Derek? It sounds like you're-" he asked slowly.
"No. It's.." he trailed off, glaring at Stiles, throwing his head towards the Sheriff.
Stiles almost growled under his breath. "Gah, dammit"
Derek frowned. "You haven't told him about Harrington? And Emma?" A deep breath. "Stiles!"
"What's going on?" the Sheriff said, looking at Derek before letting his eyes glide over to his son, who was still muttering under his breath. "Stiles?"
"I didn't want to tell you, because you always worry and now that I'm away at college, things were supposed to calm down. And they did, I promise. We just hit a bump in the road, sort to speak. Not, not an actual hit and run, dad. No, no. But you see-"
"What Stiles is trying to say is that the college is in another packs territory and when I came to visit, I found out the professor that teaches in one of Stiles classes is a vampire. And I had to call the local Alpha to tell her about this and-"
"A vampire?" the Sheriff exclaimed. "Son, what in the world-"
"But he's alright. Mostly. I think. Derek, shut up with the growling- you're not helping here. At all" Stiles glared at Derek who glared right back. "A beta of the local Alpha had been kidnapped and we found out that one of the vampires had kidnapped her. But then we got her back, working with the other pack like pro's and then this vampire, who kidnapped this beta- he kind of ran. But he's probably all over in Peru or something by now, but we're just going to meet with this girl that was kidnapped and then I'm going to meet with my professor to see if he knows something about this runaway-vampire. But it's all fine and we're all safe. Well, as safe as one can be. You can of course have accidents, like getting hit by a bus out of the blue or-"
"Stiles" The Sheriff held up a hand before rubbing his forehead. "It does not help that you didn't want to tell me about this" He sighed before putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "When something like this happens, I'd like to know. That was our agreement when I first found out about all of this- to tell me the truth about what's going on. Be honest with your old man. Alright? I worry, even if there wasn't a vampire on the loose. I worry constantly. But that's my job as a parent." He looked over to Derek, who was standing there looking like he didn't really know where to look. "Derek, I'm counting on you to keep my son safe. To keep everyone safe."
"Of course, Sir. That's why I'm coming with them"
The Sheriff gave him a tightlipped smile. "I know, son. And I thank you for it. I don't know if I've ever done that on the other occasions that we've met but.. Thank you for keeping them safe."
Derek looked like he wanted to run and hide, but took the hand the Sheriff extended. "It's my first priority, Sir. And they take care of each other as well"
"Take care of each other then. I worry about all of you." He looked back to Stiles, who was watching with big eyes, gnawing on his lip. "Just tell me next time, son. And call me if there's anything, no matter how small, I can help with" He hugged his son goodbye. "And for God's sake, be careful. Don't run head first into trouble"
"We'll try not to, dad"
As they got into Derek's car, Stiles buckled up and leaned back in the seat with a heavy sigh. "I know I should've told him but.. it's my dad, you know. I don't want him to worry about me so much. And I really thought we were done with this James-dude and the vampire troubles."
Derek backed out of the drive-way and glanced at Stiles. "I know. I'm sorry if I made things worse"
"No, that's okay. It's better that he knows. We promised not to lie to each other again, not after it almost ruined our relationship. I thought it was over but then things happened and I just-" He turned his head towards Derek. "I just wanted a normal weekend back home, you know" He blew out a harsh breath. "But now he knows, and I feel.. kind of relieved, actually"
Derek nodded with his eyes on the road. "You don't want your dad to worry. I get that."
"Yeah. This is my life, and I would never turn my back on the pack or you but my dad.. He doesn't have to be a part of all of that, you know. He deserves not to worry so much"
Derek handed Stiles a thermos. "He'll worry either way, he even said so. And it's you we're talking about. You're always in trouble." Stiles snorted and Derek knew he had lightened the mood a bit. "Have some coffee."
Stiles took a sip and moaned low. "This isn't just coffee. This is a latte, isn't it?" He sipped it again, closing his eyes, adding another satisfied moan. "Oh my God, this was just what I needed."
Derek eased up on the hold he had on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. Stiles' moaning was not a good way to start the four hour drive.
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