Wow! So, this chapter was super hard to write and I'm sorry if it's confusing, but I really didn't know what to do with this. I knew how it was going to end, but it was everything else that I really struggled with.
And an exciting announcement...I reached 10,000 views today! Yay! That's super exciting for me and I want to thank everyone who had read, followed, favorited and reviewed this story. It means so much to me and I just want to say thank you everyone!
sarahmichellegellarfan1: Thanks hon!
Cassie-D1: I know, I hate that part too, but I had to do it, even though it kinda hurt a little.
Lily: Thanks hon! And I know, I hate that episode, but it had to be done!
Enjoy!
I didn't sleep well that night. It was the first time Derek and I had slept in a bed together and not touched some part of each other. We were back to back, Derek still close enough that I could feel the heat coming off his skin, but yet he seemed miles away. We were both still suffering from his decision to kick Isaac out, his guilt eating away at my sadness. I finally rolled over around three, snuggling up to Derek's back. He sighed in his sleep, tensing slightly as my cold hands touched his back, before he relaxed, all tension leaving his muscles. I gently traced the tattoo on his back before closing my eyes, drifting off to sleep in Derek's warmth.
My alarm went off too early, a groan rumbling against my chest. I cracked my eyes open, looking down at Derek, his head nestled into my chest, the rest of his body wrapped around me. His head was tucked under my chin, breath fanning against my chest. My legs were trapped between his and his grip on my shirt, well his shirt, was tight. He groaned when I tried to move away, his grip only getting tighter.
"Derek, I need to turn my alarm off." I whispered, running my fingers through his soft hair.
He sighed, finally releasing me long enough for me to roll over and shut off the infernal beeping. As soon as it stopped, I was in Derek's arms again, his face buried in between my breasts.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled, his voice muffled.
"I know." I whispered against the top of his head, my fingers tangled in his hair. "But I know you want to protect him, and I can't be mad at you for that."
He slid his body up an inch, his lips pressing against the base of my throat. His nose traced the length of my jaw, his breath hot against my ear.
"How long before you have to leave?" He whispered, taking my earlobe in between his teeth.
I rolled over slightly, looking at my phone before turning back to Derek. "About an hour and a half."
"More than enough time." He whispered before rolling us over so he was hovering over me.
I got to school right as the bell rang, my time with Derek lasting a little longer than expected this morning, and I was sore as I ran up the steps and into the school, trying not to be late.
Lydia looked at me sideways as I slipped into the seat next to her.
"You're awfully bright this morning." She said, a knowing look in her eyes.
"What do you mean?" I tried to play it cool, but I knew she knew what had happened.
"You're positively glowing and..." She moved the collar of my jacket to the side revealing one of the many purple bruises that covered my body that I had tried to cover up. "I knew it." She said. "How long?"
"Since June."
"It took you almost a year to sleep with him?"
"We had other things to worry about at the time."
Thankfully our substitute started the class, saving me from further questioning from Lydia.
The day dragged on slowly, especially English because I could feel Ms. Blake's eyes on me every few minutes, making me nervous. I wasn't quite sure why, but I didn't like it.
"Ms. Ryder, can I talk to you for a moment?" She asked before I could leave the classroom.
She waited until everyone was gone before turning to me. "I think you already know what this is about."
"I know." I leaned against the desk behind me. "I'm sorry for running out of class yesterday, but I wasn't feeling well, and I didn't want to vomit all over your classroom."
She seemed to buy my excuse, seeing as I didn't really want to explain that my boyfriend was dying at the hands of an evil alpha pack and I was feeling his pain. "Well, I hope your feeling better now."
"I am. I think it was just something I ate."
"Well, just make sure you tell me what's going on next time, okay?"
I nodded before she dismissed me, letting me leave the school. I was distracted as I drove back to the loft. Something felt off about Ms. Blake. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I knew the feeling from somewhere.
Derek's car was gone from the garage when I got there, making me frown. He hardly went anywhere without telling me where he was, unless he didn't want me following him.
I went up the stairs anyways, sliding the loft door open, only to find Peter sitting on the couch with a book. As far as I could tell he was the only one there.
"Yes, Derek and Cora are gone. Something about an errand..." He waved his hand dismissively, not even bothering to look up from his book.
"What kind of errand?" I asked, moving closer to him.
"I'm not supposed to say." He looked at me for a second before going back to his book.
"Okay, then I'll just find them myself." I turned and started walking to the door.
His arm wrapped around me, half dragging, half carrying me to the couch.
"I'm not supposed to let you do that either. As the weakest link in the pack, I was nominated to play babysitter."
"What makes you think you can keep me here?"
"Because, I may be weak, but I'm still stronger than you."
"You think so?" I held up my hand, throwing him back a couple feet.
"You really don't want to fight me." He said, leaning up on his elbows.
"Actually, I kinda think I do."
His eyes glowed blue and he lunged at me. I ducked under his arm, kicking him in the back as he passed me, sending him to all fours on the ground. He went to lunge at me again, but I held him back with my telekinesis. He growled, fighting against it, but I held on, not having to try quite as hard to keep him at bay as I had on the full moon. He growled again, backing off slightly before roaring, breaking through the barrier between us, sending me to the ground in shock. He was on me in a second, his body pinning me down, one hand holding my wrists, the other holding himself up by my head.
"You've still got a lot to learn, little witch." He said, smirking down at me.
"What the hell is this?" I heard Derek's voice.
"Training." Peter said simply, pulling slightly away from me so he could look at Derek. "I had to keep her from going after you somehow."
Peter stood before holding a hand out to me. I looked at it for a second before letting him pull me to my feet. I brushed myself off as Derek ran his hands over my face, checking for any injuries.
"I'm fine." I said, brushing him off.
"We found them, the alpha pack. They're in the same apartment building as the Argents." Derek said, walking over to the table. "Cora and Boyd followed the twins there." He laid something out, putting books on the edges to keep it straight. "We went back to get a blueprint."
"You're going after them." I said, looking at Derek from across the table.
"If we don't, they'll come after us."
"You really think you stand a chance against them?"
"We've got a shot at it. We should take it while we still can."
I didn't feel good about this. Nothing felt good about this, but I wasn't about to argue with him. I had that feeling, that suffocating dread that I felt when someone was going to die. I looked at the four gathered around the table and I knew I didn't want it to be any of them that died. I knew I couldn't bring them back, I wasn't strong enough, and for all I knew it wasn't possible. I squeezed between Derek and Peter, my shoulders touching their arms, feeling comforted by having them close.
The door slid open, revealing Scott. "I know where they are." He said, coming into the loft.
"The same building as the Argents. We know." Derek said
"Cora and I followed the twins." Boyd said, turning to face Scott.
"Then they want you to know." Scott said.
"Or, more likely, they don't care." Peter said.
"What is this?" Scott said, looking down at the blueprint on the table.
"Isn't it obvious? The schemer's are scheming. Coming up with a coup de main, better known as a preemptive strike."
"You're going after them?"
"Tomorrow." Derek said, straightening up from where he'd been bent over the table. "And you're gonna help us."
"We'll sneak in, attack when no one is looking, get rid of the threat once and for all." Peter said.
"They're one floor above them, in the penthouse, right above Allison." Derek said.
"So kill them first, that's the plan?"
"They won't even see it coming" Boyd tried to reassure Scott.
"Why is the default plan always murder? Just once, can someone try to come up with something that doesn't involve killing everyone?"
"You never get tired of being so blandly moral, do you? Not that I disagree with him." Peter said, looking to Derek.
"I do." Cora said. "Why do we need this kid?"
"This kid helped save your life. And you know we can't just sit back and wait for them to make the first move." Derek said.
"You can't beat a pack of alphas."
"That's why we're going after Deucalion. Just him." Cora said.
"Cut off the head of the snake and the body dies." Boyd said.
"Only this isn't a snake. It's a hydra. And like Scott says, they're all alphas." Peter said.
"Deucalion's still the leader." Derek said.
"Well let's hope so. Because you know what happened when Hercules cut off one of the heads of the hydra?" Peter asked.
"Two more grew back in its place." Scott said.
"Someone's been doing their summer reading."
"Be ready. Get some rest, gather your strength. You'll need it."
We all watched as Scott left the loft, the metal clanging as the door shut behind him. It was silent for a moment, all of us staring down at the blueprint like it could give us all the answers we needed.
"You don't think he'll actually go along with it, do you?" Peter finally asked after a moment.
"No. He'll try something else. We may have to alter our plan a little."
Both Derek and I didn't sleep well that night. Derek's arms were wrapped around me tightly, our fingers laced as he breathed against my neck. Having him close was comforting, but there was still that dread that something bad was going to happen. They couldn't possibly think they'd get Deucalion alone, and then try and kill him. They were on a suicide mission, but there was nothing I could do to stop it.
I nervously sat through my classes the next day, not able to focus except for small bursts because my mind was elsewhere. I knew Derek would keep me at home with my new babysitter Peter. And I knew if I went, I would only cause more problems for Derek. I knew I wasn't strong enough to take on one of the alphas. I could barely hold off Peter who wasn't even fully recuperated yet. I could barely hold my own against two out of control betas, but it had drained me so much I was out for a few hours. There was no chance I was going to take part in the fight, and strangely I was okay with that.
I had been right, Derek laying down the law as soon as I got back to the loft. I was to stay at the loft, and not to leave until they got back. Peter would be staying with me, in case something went wrong and the alphas already had a plan.
I didn't want to let go of Derek, holding on to him for a long time before they left, dread filling me. I could be saying goodbye to one of them for all I knew. Or it could actually be one of the alphas that was going to die. That was one thing I was sure of. Tonight, someone was going to die.
That lead me to pacing back and forth, well after everyone had left. Peter had taken his spot on the couch, relaxing with a book, calm as ever. I was a nervous wreck, walking back and forth from the stairs to the bed and back.
"I can taste your anxiety sweetheart. Relax before you burn a hole through the floor."
"I can't burn through concrete. It would be something flammable that caught on fire. Like the bed or the couch. Or a psycho werewolf."
He glared at me momentarily before going back to his book. I walked over to the window, looking out at the lights of the city shining in the night. I didn't know where Derek was, I hadn't tried looking for him, not knowing if I could do it without unconsciously seeking him out. I didn't want to distract him if I showed up there, and possibly get him killed. I could feel the dull pains of the fight happening, but I couldn't tell who was winning.
I sighed, leaning my head against the glass as I closed my eyes, my fingers running over Derek's mark. That's when I felt it. Pain erupted across my body for a moment before everything went numb, except for a pulsing pain in my chest. It gradually grew until I felt like I was being ripped in half. I gasped, not able to make any sound as the pain intensified. I was barely able to hear someone calling my name before I was falling, my world going dark.