Hey Readers, health problems got really bad. It took an embarrassingly long time to write this chapter, but I'm still slowly chipping away at it. Thank you for being so understanding and patient. I got so many kind messages, and it meant a lot. Until my health improves, I can't give a definitive timeline for chapters. Some may come out faster than others, but I will keep writing whenever I have the strength and mental capacity to do so. Thank you for reading! -V
P.S. The title is a bit of a spoiler, but I couldn't not use it. :p
P.P.S. Constructive Feedback and Reviews are appreciated!
Chapter 32: Feral Unsub
Deucalion stared after the flash of red as Daria drove away from his condo days later. Her visit had been a welcome one, but it left the Alpha with more questions than answers.
Daria's empath abilities had flourished well beyond his expectations, but recent developments surprised the Alpha. He had never heard of the empath's call being so great as to summon a projection of one's being, and yet she and Mister Hale had communicated with one another on several occasions, each projection more concrete than the last.
Either her abilities had exponentially increased in his absence, or some other phenomenon was at play. Deucalion was inclined to believe the latter, but it would require further research to confirm.
Whatever the cause, the empath once again had that ever familiar spark of hope of which he'd caught a glimpse years ago, and he was glad for it.
–
Daria's nerves buzzed with anticipation as she hiked well beyond the last known mountain trail. She had roughly twenty miles left of forest before she reached Deucalion's cabin, and her eyes flashed red, revitalizing her limbs with her mentor's power as she pressed on. She wondered how Derek fared on his travels, but her cell phone was powered off, and as far as she knew, he had no cell phone at all. After a few unfortunate incidents channeling Derek and summoning a projection of him at inconvenient moments, they had agreed not to do so again until they were together.
Together.
The empath knew she shouldn't put so much stock in the prospect. They had gone separate ways and grown apart, but Derek was a flame she couldn't douse. And she didn't want to. She felt secretly pleased that somehow he was the only person her amplified abilities worked on, though neither of them could figure out the reason. Deaton had guessed that strong emotions could potentially trigger a more powerful connection, comparing it to the desperation that led to an awakening of her abilities when she and Parrish had been set on fire. Daria didn't want to think she was desperate for Derek or anything, so she made a point not to bring it up again.
Jogging past miles of trees, Daria's backpack jostled around from behind, and she stopped to tighten the straps. She had lost count of how many times she'd stopped to do so, but at least the backpack held together.
She caught sight of a large boulder just beyond a tight cluster of trees – a waypoint Deucalion had told her to watch for, and Daria made a hard-left toward a small ravine she knew to be a mile or so away. The next landmark was harder to track - two trees whose tops had woven together into a tight arc.
Before she could find it, she heard a noise in the distance. One set of footfalls treading deftly in her direction. Daria's heart thumped. Surely it was Derek. But the following sound dashed her hopes. More footsteps, belonging to several people.
Hunters.
She had to find the next landmark and hide. Running parallel to the sound, Daria's eyes raked over the terrain, searching for the distinct set of trees, but there weren't any the way Deucalion had described.
What if she'd run past them? What if they'd been cut down?
Daria's heart pounded in a panic. She was lost, and her pursuers were near.
She struggled to hold to everything she had learned from Agent McCall to compartmentalize her emotions, but then one terrifying, solitary thought took hold.
What if Derek was in danger?
The trees spun in every direction. Each breath came in short spurts, and Daria felt her center of gravity shift as she began to collapse.
Something slammed into her, carrying her body in a blur of black. It stopped on the downward slope of the ravine, and Daria realized that warm flesh accompanied the black, along with grey-green eyes.
"Derek!" the name tumbled from her lips in disbelief.
He brought a swift finger to his lips, and she fell silent, allowing him to pull her body toward his bare chest.
Abandoning Deucalion's power for her own, she pressed her hands into the skin of his back, absorbing his fear and fatigue.
"You shouldn't do that," he whispered with concern. "I know taking too much can make you weak."
"Shut up, and let me thank you for keeping me from passing out in a crisis situation." She grumbled into his chest, and his hold on her tightened.
"They're too close to the cabin. I'll lead them in the opposite direction and meet you when I can."
Daria growled. "Let me come with you."
"I don't want to risk you being taken by Interpol."
"Interpol?" she looked up in surprise. "They're not hunters?"
Derek drew back and shook his head. "No. And I know you could help. You could probably take them all down, but if I can lure them further north, we won't need to."
She pressed her lips into an unsure frown. "You'd better be right. If this is all the reunion we get… and I don't get to fully appreciate the sight of you without a shirt on, I'll be so pissed off."
The wolf bit down a grin and pressed a light kiss into her hair. "I'll meet you tonight."
He vanished toward the sound of whatever government entity was chasing him down, and Daria took in her surroundings. Directly in front of her stood a pair of trees, intertwined along the canopy. Shaking her head, she descended down the ravine in search of the next waypoint.
–
A few hours later Daria's mouth fell at the sight before her. Deucalion's cabin was a hidden marvel of architecture. He'd built it years ago during the height of his Alpha pack days, but anyone else who had known about it was now dead.
Built on level ground, it was designed to look like it sloped into the mountain and had real plants growing on the roof to shield it from prying eyes. The pillars in front had been made to look like artificial trees, and the paint was a camouflaged and textured mural of the surrounding forest.
Using an intricate passcode Deucalion told her as Daria channeled him, it felt like she was entering Batman's summer home as the pressurized seal of the door loosed and the entryway lights flickered a warm glow along the floor.
"Try to show restraint in your lovemaking if you can. I've had to replace far too many countertops."
Daria blanched at his parting words and quickly withdrew from channeling the Alpha. It was a meeting point before their travels, not a rendezvous for a romantic tryst.
But as she thought of the way Derek held her against his bare chest in the woods, she had to exert extra effort to keep from biting her lip. Whatever happened, whether it be the slow burn of amicable acquaintanceship or a few broken countertops, Daria was on board.
–
Derek knew he was close to the cabin, but underneath the dim moonlight it was completely invisible, even through wolf eyes. Kneeling to the ground, he closed his eyes to use his other senses. There were no chemosignals or nearby heartbeats, so he resorted to more drastic measures. Letting out a howl, he waited, hoping Deucalion hadn't soundproofed the entire house.
For several seconds he heard nothing. Then he heard it - a faint howl that faded into giggles.
Of course she would giggle after trying to communicate by howl. Derek shook his head and followed the sound. After a few minutes he could detect the steady thrum of her heartbeat. Then he found the faint remnants of a chemosignal she'd left behind. Excitement. His own heart beat a little faster, and he began to look for the cabin with renewed vigor.
Barely a minute passed when he found it, though if he hadn't been searching carefully for the door, Derek would have likely run head-first into its solid, steel frame. It blended perfectly with the surrounding greenery.
Deucalion must have gone to great lengths to build the cabin and conceal it, and his willingness to share it with Daria without hesitation further evidenced his devotion to her. Derek didn't understand it. He knew from Braeden that the Alpha had known about Daria's abilities before the Alpha pack came to Beacon Hills, but beyond that he had no clue how he knew so much about her or why he continued to help her unconditionally. It was something Derek hoped to ask, but it made him realize how little he really knew about Daria.
With a thump in his chest, he realized he wanted to know everything about her - her likes and dislikes, her favorite hobbies, things that made her smile, every facet of her personality he'd had yet to witness.
Before he could find the door, it creaked open and he could see the dim sparkle of tears in Daria's eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," She sniffed a laugh. "I could feel everything you were feeling from this side of the door."
She pulled him in by the hand and pulled him into a gentle kiss.
"I'm glad you're safe," she whispered against his lips.
Despite the more desperate urge to kiss her again, Derek's stomach rumbled, and the wolf remembered he hadn't eaten since morning.
"Come on," Daria tugged on his fingers. "Deucalion has a surprising amount of food storage in here."
Derek let her lead, unable to part from the tender grasp of her hand. And he didn't want to.
