AN: I noticed that there were about 4 chapters in a row that were focused on Kori, and also there's been a question about the whole True Mate thing and whether or not Derek knows. So, to kind of acknowledge it among one of the two of them…this is where this, written on the fly, chapter comes in.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Teen Wolf.
Chapter 11- Derek
Derek stayed leaning against his car as Kori walked off, down the over grown road on her way to school. He could help but worry about her and the connection she now had with the family who he knew was responsible for the death of his family and Kori's mother. He blamed himself for the fire too; if he hadn't been so trusting and naïve. If he hadn't let his guard down, then maybe he would have been able to see the person Kate really was. Again, he thought he had made a connection with someone only for it to end in tragedy. Somehow, Kori never saw him to be the one at fault even when he knew that it was his actions that lead to the incident.
He couldn't harp on that now, there were things that had to be done but the problem was, Derek didn't know where to start. Laura kept whatever she'd found close to her, not even telling Kori about it. He had nothing to go on except a dead deer.
What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
Frustrated, Derek went back into the house, throwing one last look over his should at Laura's resting place. He sighed and walked through the front door only to stand just inside the doorway for several minutes.
Not know what to do or where to begin, Derek felt the rare need for his mother. She always had the answers for everything. He made his way up the stairs and into what used to be her study, which stood alongside his room. The room was filled with dust, dirt, and ash like much of the rest of the house. Thankfully there was no damage from the fire in this room and the journals and books were all still intact and safe. He sighed in relief, not realizing how much he hope these belongings were still here; they were a final piece of his mother, the only thing he really had left of her.
Derek passed a finger along the spine of some of the books that still sat on a tall ornate bookcase. Nothing jumped out at him, he picked up a few to flip through the pages to see if anything caught his eye or gave him something to go off but there was nothing in the published text. He walked across the room, over to an old wooden truck and opened it. On top sat a small box with a verity of phots from his childhood. He smiled softly to himself looking through the photos of him with his mother and Laura, all before Cora was even born. He looked down at one of him hold tightly on top a baby girl, a big grin on his face. Derek stared at it sadly, seeing a photo of him holding, who he thought was, his younger sister at just a few days old. He flipped the photo over to see if there was a date written on the back like his mother so often did.
'Derek and Baby Kori- a True Bond'
The other photos slipped out of his hand as he stared down at his mother's handwriting, the words sending a shiver up his spine. He placed the photo down, rummaging through the trunk.
"Okay, mom. I'm listening now, talk to me." Derek pawed through the truck, moving some pieces of clothing and family relics out of the way to reach the bottom. "There they are." He said out loud to himself as he pulled out several of his mother's journals.
He flipped through them, looking for any entries from when the photo of him holding Kori was taken. In a deep green leather bond one with a Celtic knot embossed on the cover, he found an entry about Kori, the first one, from just a few days after she was born and brought meet the pack.
'Oh, how beautiful Kori is. Her eyes of moss and that brilliant smile. She laughs all the time, never cries. And Derek has taken to her, he won't let anyone go near her when Hannah is over with her. He is so good with her, she loves him already I can sense it. She is calmer in his arms or with him around her. She'll just stare at him for hours. It is an amazing thing to witness, the forming of the Bond at such a young age, but I am certain that is what is happening to them. There is no doubt that the two of them are indeed True Mates…'
Derek's eyes went wide. That's not possible. He read through a few more entries, nothing more about Kori in the first journal so he moved on to what looked to be the next one. The entries were from a few years later, Kori about 5 and he 10.
'Hannah and Charlie needed a break from their parental responsibilities, Derek sweetly offered to watch Kori for them. She spent the night, much to their hesitation. She's been having nightmares Hannah tells me, I believe it has to do with the half-blood running through her veins. They are worse, she says, when the full moon approaches and they can give her a panic attack. At such a young age, that must be terrifying for the poor girl. Her body is fighting itself, the wolf demanding to take control, but the human side is strong willed and stubborn. It's an internal battle that I believe is manifesting itself in her dreams.
'She woke up screaming. My heart sank. I held her thrashing body as she whaled and swung her arms wildly. I tried to soother her, but I was of no use. Then Derek came running in, panicked. His eyes were wide and scared, he thought she was in pain. He rushed to her, pulling her from my arms as if an instinct took over. I let him and just watched.
'He held her tight to his chest, running his hand over her head, and just told her that he was there and that she was okay. Her tiny body relaxed, and she curled up in his lap, her cries softening to nothing as he just held her. Another moment where my son, my beautiful Derek, has amazed me. He looked up into my eyes and told me he would take care of her. I left the two of them in the room together, moments later I heard giggling down the hall. When I went to check on Kori this morning I had a flash of panic when I saw her bed was empty, but noticed Derek's door was open a crack. I looked in to see her curled up to his side, his arm laying protectively over her. She must have woken back up and snuck into his room.
'The older they get and the closer they get to Age, the stronger the Bond gets. I worry how it will be for Derek once he does turn 17. Kori is 5 years younger, the link won't truly spark until she also reaches 17. Derek will be in limbo while he waits, he may not even know what is going on. There isn't much anyone knows about the Bonded Pairs, even my knowledge is limited.'
Derek remembered that night his mother wrote about. He was terrified. He was woken up by Kori's cries but there was a tightness in his chest as well, a tightness he couldn't explain.
He read on, skipping entries about him treating Kori like a mean older brother, going forward a couple years.
'It's happened. The day I prayed would never come. Derek has taken the life of an innocent.'
Derek's heart dropped, a lump forming in his throat.
'He cannot be held responsible for this; the young spirited Paige was attacked. Bitten. Her body fought the bite. She wouldn't have made it. He did what I know was the hardest thing for him to even think about. He ended her suffering; freed her. But still, he is broken. Kori can see it. She's tried to be there for him, but he fears hurting everyone around him now. He's lost faith in himself. He's pushing everyone away, even her. And it's breaking her too. I tried to talk to him, get him to understand that he needs to let someone in. He needs to let Kori in, but he just pushes back. He is fighting himself, he wants to take comfort in her. But he will not allow it, he leaves the room when she enters. Tells her to get away from him He has been unkind to her even. She feels unwelcome and has stopped visiting so much.
'Laura found her in the children's secret place in the woods, crying. She knows that Derek is in pain and she is just trying to help him. She's feeling like she's done something to upset him.
'I tell him it will get better, easier. But he's just so angry with himself. I know he doesn't mean to hurt Kori, he thinks it's for the best that she stays away from him.
'I am at a loss for what to do for either. They are still a few years from reaching Age. I just hope Derek lets her back in soon.'
Derek's heart broke all over again, reading a recount of what happened with Paige and seeing how it affected someone else. He really did believe that having Kori by him would get her hurt, and he didn't want to hurt her. He saw himself as a monster, something that should be feared and denied any kind of comfort or love. He didn't know Kori believed that she had done something wrong. It hurt him to know that he had cause her any kind of pain when al he was trying to do was protect her.
He couldn't read anymore, he read too much already but he couldn't stop himself. His head was spinning with the words of his mother in his mind. He found himself wishing he could find out more about True Mates and Bonded Pairs. Now more than ever he wanted to actually be able to speak with his mother.
How is this even possible, it's not even a real thing. Just a story. He thought to himself. Even as he thought this, he began to replay various moments in his and Kori's history. He began to pull apart every word, analysis body language and tones, every laugh or touch. There was a pull, he couldn't deny it and if he really thought about it his draw toward Kori had gotten stronger over the last five years, after he turned 17, stronger still in the last day since she had turned 17.
17. His mother had written about coming to Age, wrote about the two of them turning 17.
He thought back to the car ride to the reserve, to her hand in his, the prickly feeling in his fingers he felt the night before when he had gotten home.
Derek shook his head. "This is crazy. She hoped too much." He mumbled about his mother, as he stood. "True Mates? Bonded Pair? Crazy. There is no way, not me and Kori. Sorry mom, but you're just wrong." Derek fell silent, as if expecting to hear an argument from his mother. "You have to be."
His thoughts went to Paige, his feelings for her, how it ended. Then to Kate and his feelings for her, and how that ended. Derek could sense something there, between him and Kori when they were together or even when he was alone. His thoughts were always on Kori. He felt it the minute he saw her running toward him, her smiled lifting him up even though he had just found his sister dead. But he wouldn't let himself believe that there was anything there, he refused to acknowledge the feeling he knew were there.
The minute he did, that was when disaster would strike, and he would lose her. For good.
He lost Paige.
He lost his family because of Kate.
He couldn't lose Kori.
