CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Summary: Hermione Granger, one of the brightest minds of her generation, makes a decision that will ultimately change her future plans. At twenty-three, she finds herself moving to a strange town that's a hell-mouth for supernatural beings, pregnant, and in way over her head. And the father of her unborn child? The tall, dark and handsome werewolf, Derek Hale. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and the creators of Teen Wolf and MTV. This is purely for entertainment purposes and I am not making a profit from the posting of this. This is set after Season 3, and everything from season 4 onwards doesn't happen; so no deadpool, Beast, Dread Doctors, Wild Hunt or Hunters. Allison still died, Liam will still be appearing, and there is no Kira or Malia. Derek is 22 and Hermione is 23. I'm fudging the time line a bit, too.
Page count: 19
Two months later...
Time passed quickly for The Hale pack with Scott, Stiles and Liam fitting in well, visiting the cottage regularly and Hermione had been present at the last two full moons, helping to keep Liam calm and he was quickly learning to control himself.
Hermione was only two months away from the twins' due date and her stomach was bigger than ever, all the added weight she was carrying was wrecking havoc on not only her sleeping pattern and bladder, but she grew tired very easily and couldn't be on her feet for long periods of time.
Things had been too quiet lately, there'd been no supernatural cases for her to investigate and while she was happy for the fact, she couldn't help feel that something was coming.
It was the final week of school and then the summer would officially begin, meaning she would have Teddy back in her line of sight at all times and she would no longer have to worry about him.
The time he'd been at school she begrudgingly admitted it had been good for him. Not only had he made friends with children his own age and he had started taking an interest in other activities, but he'd grown in confidence. And while she didn't like that he was at school and the time she had left with him before he went off to Hogwarts was reduced, even she could see it had been the best decision with the best outcome.
As Hermione stepped out of the trees with Derek and they made their way to their own cars, she pressed a quick kiss to his mouth and climbed into her car. Derek would be picking up Teddy from school and Hermione had to a do a quick grocery run, as well as pick up some medication for Andromeda.
It was uncommon for wizarding folk to catch the muggle flu but Andromeda had somehow done so, and with her magic and body weakening, it wasn't that farfetched. Andromeda had been confined to her room for the last few days, not wanting to pass on the illness to Hermione whilst she was pregnant, and with Derek's werewolf genes meaning he couldn't get sick, he was the one that took Andromeda her meals and visited with her so she wouldn't feel lonely.
"I'll see you back at the cottage?" Derek called over to her, stood beside his car and ready to climb in.
"I should be no longer than an hour, would you mind making a start on chopping the vegetables? I'll do the rest when I get back."
"Alright, and don't forget we need ketchup."
"Already?" She asked amused.
"The pup's practically drinking it straight from the bottle," Derek shrugged.
She snorted. "I won't forget, but don't you forget to find out how many cookies the school wants for the charity bake sale. It'd be easier to just donate ourselves but I promised Teddy he could decorate the short bread."
"I won't, and don't you forget we need bread for Teddy's lunch box."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to, but I'm going to remind you to not leave his lunch box behind."
"I've learned my lesson," he grimaced.
They'd accidentally left Teddy's lunch box at the school over the weekend once and Hermione had forced him to clean it; it hadn't been a pleasant experience, the smell alone had knocked him sick.
"Good, I'll see you later," she said, shutting the car door behind her, getting herself comfortable and then sending a little wave to Derek as she drove past him.
~000~000~000~
Derek stood outside the school with his eyes darting about the crowds of children and their waiting parents, watching and waiting for Teddy to make an appearance. He'd been there five minutes and so far he hadn't caught sight, smell or heard him, but he knew it wasn't anything to worry about. Teddy was usually one of the last ones out of the school either being too busy talking to his friends or he'd forgotten something and had to go back for it.
He slipped his hands into his pockets and allowed himself to relax as he continued watching the crowd, and when he spotted a group of mothers giggling between themselves and their eyes darting between each other and him, he struggled to keep his face passive, especially when one of them squared her shoulders and slowly approached him.
He could easily see she was older than him, he'd say she was in her mid-thirties and he was sure she had three children, the elder one being in high school, the middle child being in middle school and the youngest being in elementary school. Her straight blonde hair was left to hang down her shoulders and her green eyes were framed by mascara covered lashes.
He thought she was a bit too dressed up to be picking up a child from school, wearing a black informal cocktail dress and a pair of black heels on her feet. He admitted she was pretty but to him Hermione outstripped her by miles, even when she was grumpy and threatening to bite him and wearing sweatpants and his shirts. When Hermione felt she looked her worst, he thought she was at her best. Natural, wild and beautiful. Like a wolf.
But judging by the way the woman looked at him and the tan line on her ring finger, he guessed she was recently divorced and it wasn't hard to determine what she may have wanted from him.
"Hi, I thought it about time I introduced myself, I'm Sarah," she smiled at him, holding her hand out.
Not to be rude, he shook her hand before slipping his own back into his pocket. "Derek," he replied, his eyes darting around in search of Teddy and then moving back to the woman in front of him.
"You're Teddy's father, right?"
He understood how she knew who Teddy was, he was the only British child in the school and the children would tell their parents about the new transfer student.
"I am, yes," he replied.
"I'm Charlie's mom, he's in Ms. Farrow's class."
Derek nodded, he couldn't believe the old woman was still teaching; she'd been there when he was young. Thankfully he'd never been forced to have her as a teacher as she was known for being a lot stricter than the others and he couldn't remember any child that actually liked her.
She cleared her throat, drawing his eyes back to her when they once more searched for Teddy. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her push her hair back from her face and an innocent smile pulled at her mouth, her eyelashes fluttering briefly.
He thought it best to defuse the situation before the woman said something that would be embarrassing for her, but he didn't want to be an ass about it, so he was going subtle.
"You don't happen to know how many cookies are needed for the bake sale, do you? It's just Hermione needs to know so she can make sure she has enough ingredients before she makes a start on the baking tomorrow."
"Hermione?" She questioned.
"Hermione, Teddy's mom, my girlfriend."
"Oh," she said, her face falling. "I wasn't aware Teddy had a mother, I've only seen you pick him up."
Derek's mouth twitched and he titled his head to the side slightly. "It's a bit of a drive from our house to pick Teddy up, and with Hermione being heavily pregnant it's a bit too much for her."
"Pregnant?" She spoke.
Derek thought she couldn't look any more disappointed even if she tried.
"Yes, pregnant, she's got two months left to go and the babies haven't been making it easy for her, so I handle the school run."
"Babies?"
Derek found it very difficult not to laugh in the poor woman's face.
"Babies," he nodded. "We're having twins."
She frowned. "How's Teddy your son? He doesn't look like you, you don't look old enough to be his father and rumour has it he's British."
'Didn't stop you from setting your sight on me, did it?' Derek thought amused.
He gave her a tolerable smile, he would have to lie slightly for this part. "Teddy's Hermione's nephew. His parents died when he was a baby and his Grandmother got custody. When Hermione moved over here from England, she discovered her mother's not well so she moved them both out here to be with her a few months ago. We've both legally adopted Teddy, which is how and why he's my son, regardless of my age."
She blinked at him, her mouth parted slightly.
"So, about those cookies?"
She shook her head. "Right, well there's usually a few parents that have been assigned to each stall. Last year each parent baked between fifty and seventy-five each."
"I'll let her know, thank you, now if you don't mind, I better go look for Teddy. That kid would live here if we allowed him. It was nice meeting you," he spoke, before he turned and made his way to the school steps.
There were only a few stragglers left and Teddy was always out by now, so he went looking for him.
"Mr. Hale?"
Derek stopped and turned to see another teacher, Ms. Simons. He didn't know her all that well, she'd only started at the school his final year before moving onto middle school and he'd never been in her class, but she was a friend of Georgia Hall, Teddy's teacher, so it wasn't surprising she knew who he was. He frowned at seeing the confused look on her face.
"Did Teddy leave something behind?"
"Not that I'm aware of, but he hasn't come out yet."
Her frown deepened. "Mr. Hale, Teddy was picked up by his Uncle to attend a dentist appointment."
Derek froze immediately and he felt dread fill him.
"You didn't know?" She questioned, worry beginning to make its way onto her face.
"No, I didn't. Just give me a moment," he said, before he dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, dialling Scott's number.
"What's up, Derek?" Scott's voice came over the speaker.
"Have either you, Stiles or Liam pulled Teddy out of school without telling me?"
"What? No, of course we haven't, Hermione would kill us. We haven't left campus all day. Why?"
Derek didn't answer him, he ended the call and looked to the teacher, her face paling at his next words.
"I need to know who picked him up, now!" He spoke, barely keeping control of his wolf and he gripped his hands into tight fists.
She nodded and turned around and walked into the school, reappearing moments later with a clip board in hand and a record of visitors. He saw her eyes scan the papers before she looked up at him.
"Teddy was collected at 13:45 with a note that explained he had a dentist's appointment. The signature on the note was checked against your signature on Teddy's enrolment forms, they were a match."
"Who was it?" He growled.
He knew he was frightening her but he didn't care, he needed to know who'd taken Teddy.
She looked back down at the papers. "Peter Hale."
~000~000~000~
It had taken Hermione barely any time at all to pick up the groceries and Andromeda's medication and she quickly made her way back to her car, putting the bags in the boot before she made her way to the nearby bakery with the intention to pick up something for dessert as she really couldn't be bothered baking anything. That day had been a particularly hot one and she didn't want to spend her time being blasted with heat every time she checked on the cake or cookies.
Halfway to her destination she came to a stop, feeling the presence of a werewolf being nearby. She knew it wasn't Derek or even Scott or Liam, knowing their auras well by that point. This one wasn't exactly foreign to her, but it wasn't quite familiar either. She looked around her, seeing other shoppers and pedestrians going about their own business and not paying any attention to her.
She frowned before she shook her head, maybe she was being paranoid and her magic was acting up. She continued on her way until she came to a stop again a few moments later, feeling the presence again, but stronger. Automatically she felt her hand go to her sleeve where her wand was hidden beneath her jacket, and she looked around once more.
Unfortunately for Hermione, she'd stopped right in front of an alleyway.
She heard a noise and before she could turn around and see what it was, a hand darted out from behind her, wrapped around her mouth to quieten her screams and she was pulled backwards into the alleyway and out of sight.
Her back hit against a hard chest and she struggled and fought to get free, until she felt the sharp stab of a needle in the side of her neck. Whatever she'd been injected with was strong and she felt herself tiring quickly and her struggling ceased as she slumped against the body behind her.
As her eyes were drifting closed, she caught sight of a familiar looking face giving her a smile, until everything went black.
~000~000~000~
"Where's Miss. Hall?" He asked. It was obvious his question had confused her.
"She's taken a personal day to attend to some family matters."
That explained it. If she had been at the school she would've sensed another werewolf being present and if she'd heard that Peter Hale was there to collect Teddy, she wouldn't have allowed it and she would've called him immediately. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought Peter had orchestrated the whole thing, and he did know better. It was no coincidence that she was off on the day Teddy was taken.
Teddy, bless the little pup, he'd known, too! He'd asked him if there was more than one werewolf at the school. He'd sensed Peter at the school all those months ago, likely watching the child and mapping out the building.
"Should I call 911?" The teacher asked.
Derek took a calming breath and put on a strained smile. "No, Peter's my Uncle. Teddy's mother must've forgotten about the appointment and asked Peter to pick him up instead, I wrote the note a few days ago so I wouldn't forget to and then for it to be later hand it in," he lied. "I'll call Peter myself and make sure everything's fine, thank you though."
She slowly nodded and Derek turned and quickly made his way back to the car. He climbed inside and slammed the door shut behind him, his hands coming up to grip the steering wheel tightly and he bowed his head as his breathing grew laboured.
He was losing control.
Spying the ring on his hand and being reminded of Hermione, he barely managed to keep his wolf side contained and he turned his attention to contacting Hermione. They used her magical telepathy regularly and he still hadn't gotten used to having someone else's thoughts inside his head, though he did admit it came in handy. In a situation such as the one they were in, they could silently communicate without anyone knowing.
He thought of Hermione, mentally calling her name, only she didn't answer. He tried again. She didn't answer. Which meant she was either out of range -and they'd experimented with the limitations only a little but they knew they could communicate over several miles and the grocery store certainly wasn't that far away- or something had happened that meant she couldn't answer him. Or worse, both.
That was it, his wolf broke free.
He looked up at himself in the rear view mirror, seeing his blue eyes and his fangs and when he looked down at his hands; his claws had grown in, too. He wasn't completely full werewolf as his facial structure hadn't changed and he hadn't yet grown hair, which meant he still had some control over himself. He was glad for the tainted windows on the car and the fact the school was almost empty.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialled Scott.
"Hel..."
"The animal clinic, now! I want you there in five minutes, I don't care if you have to run!"
"But..."
"Just do it!" He snarled, throwing the phone onto the passenger's seat, turning on the ignition and speeding off.
He reached the animal clinic in record time and didn't bother turning off the ignition or locking up the car. He entered through the back entrance and found the three teens muttering between themselves. When the door slammed behind him, they all turned to face him, their eyes widening slightly at his almost full werewolf appearance and the anger that radiated off him.
"Hermione and Teddy are missing," he growled, beginning to pace back and forth.
"What!" Chorus shouts sounded.
"Derek! Stop pacing and tell us what happened," Scott spoke.
Derek spun around with a snarl ready to be released but seeing the teens worried expressions –especially Liam who looked as though he were about to rip his throat out with his teeth if he didn't get answers- he took a deep breath and forced himself to remain in one spot, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing over the ring Hermione had given him.
"Does this have something to do with your call?"
Derek nodded. "Yes," he replied, his voice deep and angry. "I can't get a hold of Hermione; she's not answering my calls and Teddy was picked up early from school with a note that was signed by me saying he had a dentist appointment. The signatures matched the ones on Teddy's enrolment forms."
"So it wasn't forged?" Stiles asked.
"Of course it was forged, by someone who knows my signature well," Derek growled.
"I assume there was a name, they wouldn't let someone take Teddy without getting one," Scott said.
"There was."
"And?" They chorused.
"Peter Hale."
Scott and Stiles froze while Liam looked confused.
"Who?" Liam asked, he was ignored.
"He's supposed to be in Eichen House," Stiles muttered.
"The mental health place?" He was ignored.
"Well obviously he got out!" Derek snarled, making them jump. "I get it now. Jonathon Pierce. John's his middle name and Pierce was his mother's maiden name. I didn't piece it together until the ride over here. It's a fake name and the reason we couldn't find anything on him. He met Teddy and Hermione, when he realised they had the protection of the Hale Pack and that Hermione's carrying my babies, the future of the pack, he thinks..."
"You're an Alpha," Scott whispered, realisation hitting him. "He thinks you have the power of an Alpha."
"I knew he wouldn't give up, I knew he'd come after me again but I didn't expect it to be so soon or for him to get to me by taking Hermione and Teddy. He wants the power he thinks I have and he's using them as bait and as hostages."
"He wouldn't hurt them, would he?" Stiles asked. Scott and Derek looked at him stupidly. "I know he's an evil, murdering psychopath, but this is a child and a heavily pregnant woman we're talking about."
"Peter doesn't care about that; he just wants revenge and power. Hermione and Teddy are Derek's only weakness, he's figured that out and using it to his advantage," Scott sighed. "He purposely left his name because he knew Derek would see it."
Stiles paled. "What's the plan?"
"I don't know. I'm barely stopping myself from going full werewolf and tracking them down, but I need to be careful. I don't want to do anything that could backfire and harm Hermione or Teddy," Derek said.
"First things first, we need to find them. Do you have any idea of where they are?" Scott asked him.
"No, I'm sure you've noticed you can't get reception around the cottage." All three teens nodded at him. "Neither can I, so Hermione's created something that allows for us to communicate, but wherever she is, it's too far out of range. There's at least a fifty mile limitation."
"Your point?" Stiles asked.
Derek snarled at him and Stiles startled. "She's also put a tracking device in them so we can find each other in cases of emergency, I just have to activate it and it'll take me straight to her. Peter will be expecting me, but he won't be expecting me so soon. He knows it'll take me time to find her on scent alone, but he doesn't know about the tracking devices."
"Which gives us an advantage," Liam spoke.
It was clear he was confused about why exactly someone would want revenge on Derek and he was using Hermione and Teddy to do it, -and he didn't even know who Peter Hale was, a relative he supposed- and he knew things were being kept from him, but it didn't matter to him. He just needed to get them back. He needed them safe.
"I'm doing this alone, I just need you to..."
"No, you're not," Scott interrupted. "That's what Peter will expect, he'll expect you to go alone. You said we're a pack, and a pack stays together and they fight together. We're not letting you do this alone. We have the advantage. He doesn't know about us."
"No..."
"Yes," Liam snapped, surprising the others.
"You've no experience in a wolf fight, Pup," Derek growled.
"I'm a fast learner," he replied. "You're not the only one that loves them. Hermione and Teddy are our family, our pack."
"He's right, Derek. We're a pack and we're not letting you do this alone," Scott said.
"Fine," he snarled. "But if anything happens I won't be helping you, Hermione and Teddy are my number one priority."
"And we get that," Scott nodded. "So, what's the plan?"
Derek let out a growl and ran his hand through his hair. "I need to go home, Hermione's written down the activation code and put it in a safe place. Stiles?"
He looked at him questioningly. "Yeah?"
"I want you to watch over Andy while we're gone," Derek said.
"Why?"
"She's not well and she needs looking after, I don't know how long we'll be gone."
"Fine, but I want to be kept in the loop," he replied.
"I'll call my mom and let her know what's happening. She's due back from the hospital in an hour, so I'll ask her to stay by the phone and with medical supplies at the ready so when we get back she can tend to Hermione and Teddy should they need it."
"Let's go, I don't want them anywhere near him any longer than they have to be."
~000~000~000~
Hermione's eyes fluttered open to that of the sun streaming through a window and bathing her face in the warmth. She quickly became aware of the soft mattress that was beneath her, but she knew it wasn't her own. She was also aware that her wrists were tied together with rope in front of her body and it was tied around the headboard of the bed, but she was able to push herself up until she was sitting and she looked around her surroundings.
It looked to be some kind of cabin with the wooden walls, roof and flooring. She was sat on a double bed that was against the back wall, a table sat near the single window in the room with a one chair tucked underneath, and there was a bookcase near it, filled to the brim. There was a kitchenette close to the door that was the entrance and exit of the cabin and a door on her left led to the small bathroom.
She remembered what'd happened, she remembered the presence, the struggle, the sharp prick of a needle and then the black that soon followed before waking up in a cabin in Merlin knows where.
She had to remain calm. She couldn't panic. If she did, she risked her magic acting out and that was dangerous for her too, or she risked sending herself into an early labour and that was something she definitely wanted to avoid. She'd been in worse situations than the one she was currently in, she could handle it if she just stayed calm.
"Mummy!"
Hermione's eyes snapped to the corner of the room and they widened when she saw Teddy sat on the ground in the corner with his wrists tied similarly to hers, and his ankles were bound, too. How hadn't she noticed him before? And bless her little Teddy Bear; his hair was still sandy blonde.
"Teddy Bear," she whispered. "Are you hurt?
"No," he shook his head, tears welling in his eyes and it was obvious he'd been crying previously.
She was going to kill the bastard that had done this to them and that'd scared her little boy.
"I'm scared,"
She gritted her teeth. "Teddy Bear, everything's going to be alright, I promise. Can you come to me?"
He sniffled and pressed his back against the wall, using it to push himself up until he was standing and then he jumped over to the bed. Hermione reached out to pull him up onto the mattress and he buried himself against her, crying into her and she did her best to calm him.
"What happened, Teddy Bear?" She asked him softly.
"The man picked me up from school before daddy. I told the teachers I didn't want to go with him, but they wouldn't listen. He said I had to go to the dentist and they let him take me."
Well, that explained why they'd let him take Teddy. He'd obviously convinced them that he had permission to collect Teddy from school and Teddy's reaction at not wanting to go with him would've been similar to that of a child that didn't want to visit the dentist. They wouldn't have suspected anything. She just wished she knew how he'd convinced them.
"It was the bad man from before."
"I know, Teddy Bear," she said gently. She'd seen his face before she'd blacked out.
"He put me in the car and said if I didn't stay quiet, he would hurt you. And then you were in the car, too, but you wouldn't talk to me. The man said you were sleeping."
"Do you know where we are? Did you see anything that could help?"
"No, we were in the car for a long time."
"How long?"
"Longer than maths and spelling," he told her. "He made me walk through the woods and wouldn't let me look for rabbits. He tied me up when we got here and told me not to move. He left and when he came back he had you, he tied up, too, and left."
"Has he been back?"
"No,"
"Do you know how long he's been gone?"
"No," he shook his head.
"Okay, you've done really well and been so brave, I'm so proud of you and I know your daddy will be, too."
"Is he going to hurt us?" Teddy asked.
"No, he's not. I won't let him, even if I have to break every one of our laws, I won't let him hurt us. And I know your daddy's coming for us."
"How'd you know?"
She took his hands in hers and brought them up to the metal disk around her neck.
"Feel that?"
"It's warm," he sniffled.
She smiled at him. "That means daddy's coming for us, and if the man comes back, don't tell him."
"I won't," he promised.
~000~000~000~
By the time their abductor returned, hours had passed and between the two of them, Hermione was sat up in bed with her back against the headboard and Teddy was laid down, curled up beside her underneath the blanket and his hands were pressed to her stomach, the magic of the babies helping to soothe him. The magic of unborn babies, while volatile, was also one of the purest forms of magic to exist.
When the door opened she kept her eyes on looking out the window, staring at the same tree she'd been looking at for the past ten minutes. She'd known he was close by, she'd felt it.
"Oh, you're awake, lovely," he said.
"You're an arsehole," she said as a way of greeting.
"I've been called worse."
"I assure you, I've got plenty of words in my vocabulary, but they're not suitable for use in front of children, sleeping or not."
She turned to look at him, her eyes glaring murderously and her anger only increased when he looked amused by her words.
"What did you give me? I swear if it's..."
"Just a tranquilizer, it's perfectly safe for you both," he nodded to her stomach.
"I so want to rip your throat out with my teeth right now," she said lowly, a growl wrapping around her words and her eyes flashed gold.
His amusement faded and he looked surprised at her display of wolf traits.
"You're not a werewolf," he said, looking at her curiously.
"No, but the babies are,"
"Babies? Twin pups?" He blinked.
"Yes, if you were paying attention you'd be able to hear their heartbeats."
"Well, I never knew Derek had it in him to produce twin pups, I'm almost impressed. And your wolfiness?"
Her glare didn't fade. "The babies, they're channelling their wolves through me."
He titled his head to the side. "Powerful then," he muttered. "I remember all three of Talia's pregnancies; she didn't show any wolf traits other than her own."
"Cut the crap and small talk, what are you after? You said you were an ally of the Hale Pack, so why would you threaten war."
"I never said I was an ally of the pack, you did, I just agreed with you," he shrugged.
"Derek will come for us," she told him. "I know he will." His mouth pulled into a smirk. Realisation hit her. "But you knew that, didn't you? You want him to come? We're the bait."
"In all the years I've known him, I've never seen him give the protection of the Hale Pack to anyone. When I saw you with the Hale marking I knew you'd be the only way I could get to him. You're his biggest weakness, not only because you're carrying the future of the Hale wolf line, but he loves you. He'd never give you such protection if he didn't."
"What are you after? What do you want from him?"
"I want what's rightfully mine."
"And that is?"
"Power. The power of the Alpha."
She frowned, before she snorted at him. "You're an idiot. Derek may be titled as the Alpha of our pack, but he doesn't have the power of an Alpha."
"And how do you know that?"
"His eyes are blue."
"You've seen his eyes?"
"Yes, it's the only thing that can calm me when my hormones take over my emotions and I can't stop crying over ridiculously stupid things."
"I'm not sure I believe you. How do you know so much about werewolves? How did you know about me? And the kid, too?"
"I'm human but I was part of a pack when I was a child. Teddy's father was the Alpha and both he and his wife died when Teddy was a newborn. Teddy's not a werewolf but he can tell when others are nearby, which is how he knew you were one."
"And you?"
"None of your business," she replied.
He titled his head to the side before he moved over to the table, moved the chair into the centre of the room and he sat himself down on it, watching her carefully.
"I can smell you, you know? I can smell you're not quite human. You're not supernatural, but you're definitely different. Has my dear nephew learned from his mistakes of dating normals?"
"Wait, nephew?"
He smirked at her. "Peter Hale."
The way her eyes flashed gold, her teeth gritted, her hands clenched tightly and a snarl ripped from the back of her throat told him she knew exactly who he was.
"Ah, so Derek's told you about me. All good things I hope."
"Not really, you manipulative, murdering, psychotic bastard!" She snarled.
"Oh, you're so kind," he said sarcastically.
"I've got to tell you, I've faced some truly frightening, sickening, evil things over the last decade, including a genocidal, bat-shit crazy dictator, but you, you're the worst of them all. And I swear, if Derek doesn't kill you, I will. Not only for all you've put him through, but for daring to lay a finger on my child and for putting my babies at risk. You should know better than anyone, a wolf mother protects her pups with her life, and I'll do so even in the death, and for me that's possible."
He seemed to take her threat seriously as he sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.
"I can see what he likes about you, you're feisty aren't you?"
"You have no idea," she growled, her eyes flashing gold and barely keeping control of her magic.
It was so hard for her not to use her magic to get them out of the situation, but she couldn't. Her magic was too volatile to even attempt wandless magic without it back firing, and although she could still feel her wand against her skin under her jacket sleeve, she couldn't reach it with her hands being tied. She trusted Derek to save them, and she was going to let him. She'd put her pride aside if it meant her children would be safe.
"I wonder how you'd be as a werewolf," he mused.
She wasn't sure if it was a threat or not, but she didn't take it kindly either way.
"The same but with teeth that will let me rip your throat out."
"I'm starting to like you."
"Really? I've hated you from the moment we met."
"Oh stop, you're going to make me blush."
"When I get out of these ropes, I'm going to make your death so painful you'll still feel it when you're in hell."
"Now I'm starting to think you like me."
"I'd like to stab you in the eye with something very pointy. When Derek gets here, I'm sure he'll hold you down so I can do it."
"I'd like to see you try," he said amused.
"You have absolutely no idea who you're dealing with."
~000~000~000~
Hermione had no idea what time it was but she knew sunset would soon be approaching. In the time Peter Hale had returned, they spent most of the time with her insulting and threatening him and him being amused or surprised by some of her threats, them actually being quiet gruesome and horrific.
He'd disappeared for about an hour and when he returned Teddy had been awake and he'd almost burst into tears at the sight of him. Peter had come back with food so he had no plan of starving them at least and afterwards she did a good job of ignoring him as she tried to keep Teddy distracted until he fell asleep again.
"To think, you and I have a few more days together."
Hermione turned to look at him, being too tired to muster a full on glare but she refused to let her guard down and sleep in front of him.
"Our time together will be a lot shorter than you think," she told him, feeling that the metal disc around her neck had been growing steadily hotter over the last hour, meaning Derek wasn't too far away.
Peter tried to pull her into conversation but she ignored him, her gaze moving between looking out the window and down to the sleeping child curled up against her.
She startled suddenly when far off in the distance there was a roar, and it was so loud that even she had heard it. A surprise look flittered over his face and Hermione smirked at him.
"It seems you have a visitor."
"That's not possible," he muttered. "It should've taken days to find you."
"Like you said yourself, I'm different. Do you honestly believe Derek and I hadn't planned for such a situation where we would need to track the other?"
"I searched you; you had nothing on you but your keys and purse. Nothing that's traceable."
"Wrong, where I go, Derek goes, too. He'll always be able to find me and he'll always come for me. If I were you I'd get out there. The longer you make him wait, the angrier he'll be," she smirked.
He growled at her, his eyes flashing gold but she didn't flinch, which only annoyed him more. He stood up, glared at her and then left out the cabin door.
"Teddy, wake up, daddy's here," she said. He didn't budge. She looked down at her stomach. "Help mummy out."
As she said this she felt a series of kicks and Teddy startled awake, feeling them against his hands.
"Daddy's here," she said.
"He is?"
"He came for us," she smiled at him.
They both jumped when the door was kicked open but she sighed in relief and surprise when she saw it was Liam and although he looked livid, he was still calm enough to control his wolf.
"Uncle Liam!"
His eyes searched the small cabin before they landed on the bed and a wolf-like whine fell from his mouth as he darted over to them.
"Are you okay?"
"We're fine, Liam," she said softly, seeing his worry in the way his pale blue eyes flashed gold. "What are you doing here?"
"We're pack, we fight together and we stick together. There's no way we were letting Derek do this alone, and I'm not quite sure why everyone hates this Peter guy so much, but now I have my own reasons for hating him, too."
"You and me both," she replied. "Scott's here?"
"He's with Derek; they've got the upper hand since Peter didn't know about us."
"Please tell me Stiles isn't here."
"No, Derek's got him staying at the cottage watching over Andy," he explained. "My job's to get you out of here and to safety before Peter realises he's in trouble and comes back here to threaten harm against you. So let's go."
She smiled when a single claw made on appearance on his index finger and he used it to cut the ropes from her wrists and Teddy's wrists and ankles.
Knowing Teddy would find it difficult to trek through the woods with it slowly getting darker, he hiked the small child up onto his back with the intentions of piggy backing him to the safety point.
"Do you think you can walk it?" He asked.
"Don't have a choice, Pup," she smiled softly.
"Just stay close to me,"
"I can defend myself," she replied.
"Derek said something about not freaking out if you used one of your abilities in front of me," he nodded, and when roars sounded in the distance they looked to each other.
"Is daddy going to be okay?"
"He'll be fine, Teddy, and we'll see him soon."
~000~000~000~
What felt like hours had only been a half an hour trek until they stepped out of the woods and onto a dirt road where Hermione spotted Derek's car as well as Stiles' jeep.
"Stiles let you take Roscoe?" She asked surprised. He never let anyone drive his jeep!
Liam smiled slightly. "We're pack. We couldn't all fit in Derek's car, Scott's mom's was at the hospital and your car's missing. And I have to inform her you're fine, she's waiting on standby in case you had any injuries."
She made a mental note to summon her keys and purse before they left, and to later thank everyone for their help.
Having the keys to the jeep, he opened the door and Teddy climbed into the back seat while Liam helped Hermione into the passenger's side, and he closed the door behind her and stood guard.
Hearing his phone make a sound, he dug it out of his pocket and Hermione poked her head out of the window. In that time, the phone made a sound a further three times.
"Stiles is freaking out that no one's answering his texts," Liam shrugged. "We said we'd keep him in the loop." His phone made sound a further five times.
Hermione chuckled. "Answer him, it's going to drive him crazy if you don't."
Hermione looked behind her to see that Teddy had fallen asleep in the back seat and when a roar sounded she sat in silence, gripping the metal disk around her neck tightly and praying that her pack would be fine. Soon she dozed off herself but she startled awake when the door opened and Liam was smiling at her.
"They're almost here," he told her. Worry crossed her features as he helped her out of the jeep and stood beside her. "Their breathing sounds normal and I can't smell too much blood. Any injuries they may have are probably already healing."
"That doesn't make me feel better, Liam."
It was several minutes later when the first werewolf made an appearance and she approached him as quickly as she could, pulling him into a hug when he was close enough.
"I'm fine, Hermione," Scott chuckled at her.
She pulled back from him, seeing the tears in his clothing, the already healing wounds on his torso, the dried blood and his messy hair.
"How are you? Teddy?"
"Both fine, Teddy's sleeping in the jeep."
"Don't blame him, it's been a long day," he chuckled.
"Thank you,"
"Don't be silly, we're pack," he smiled at her, before moving away when he heard Derek approaching.
Hermione almost tripped over on her way over to him and his steps quickened when he saw her, relief showing on his face. Like Scott, Derek's t-shirt was torn and bloody and he had already healing wounds on his torso and one on his face, too. He immediately took her in his arms and buried his nose against her neck, breathing in her scent and feeling the last of his anxiety washing away.
"How are you?" They both asked the other.
"Fine," she told him.
"And the pups?" He muttered, his hand moving to press against her stomach.
"Both fine, Teddy, too."
"I was so worried, I could've lost you."
"But you didn't. I told you, you'll never lose me and I meant it. I knew you'd come for us," she said softly.
"He's no longer an issue, he's dead. We've burnt the body and then buried it for good measure."
"Shame, I threatened him and I'm kind of bummed I didn't get to carry out at least one of them."
A chuckle left him. "You've got to tell me, I've no doubt they're creative."
"When we're home," she promised.
He pulled back from her and placed a gentle kiss to her mouth, holding her face in his hands and his eyes tracing her beautiful features.
"DADDY!"
Derek looked up to see Teddy wide awake, jumping down from the jeep, landing on the ground and then darting over to them. He knelt down and Teddy barrelled into him and he hugged the little boy to him.
"I'm fine, Pup."
"Mummy said you'd come for us."
"I'll always find you, we're pack," he muttered softly. "And I won't let anyone take you from me again."
Derek pulled back from Teddy and he dug into his pocket before pulling out a metal disc with a leather chord attached to it, an exact replica of hers only the disc itself was the size of a locket so it would be easy to conceal. He handed it to Teddy and the little boy beamed when he saw the Hale marking, before he put the necklace over his head and he hugged Derek again.
Derek stood up and perched Teddy on his hip as he pulled Hermione into his side.
"Te amo," Hermione muttered, looking up at him.
Derek smiled at her. "Te amo," he repeated.
"What does that mean?" Teddy asked with a frown, looking between Hermione and Derek confused.
"Te amo, it means I love you," Hermione told him.
"Oh, tomato," he said, giving Derek a squeezy hug. They chuckled at him.
"Tomato, too," they both said.
"Alright, everyone's safe, your creepy ass Uncle's been taken care of, and I'm hungry. Who wants pizza?" Liam interrupted.
"ME!"
Whether it was Hermione or Teddy that answered was a mystery.