Peter had been out of commission for only a few days and the hunters had left Beacon Hills right after the attack so seeing his contacts now was more about reconnecting than gathering information. He got some news here and there but nothing helpful. At least not from his local contacts, he would have to reach out farther if he wanted to find Kate.
He did drop by the station to check in with John but aside from some donuts he had to swear not to mention to Stiles Peter got nothing there either. John suspected that Kate had left the country, she might be with her family in France by now. If he was right, there was no way for Peter to get to her in the limited amount of time he had for such a trip.
However, if he could convince Derek to help him distance wouldn't matter. There was not a place in the world where she could hide from the Nöck.
So for now, Peter just drove around town, visited stores and businesses, and talked to people. He even visited the library. He didn't borrow anything, didn't even look at the books, they reminded him too much of his own collection, but he had a nice chat with Denise.
"Should you be out of the hospital already?" She narrowed her eyes on him when he joined her at the front desk.
"Looked worse than it was." Peter played down his injuries. Aside from his pack, only a few staff members of the hospital had seen the real extent of his injuries, he should be able to get away with his miracle healing.
Peter promised to come by again soon, and to bring Emily, and he left the library with the good feeling that his life hadn't changed that much.
For one he kept an eye on the time and he almost made it back to the lake but then Derek stood at the side of the road. Peter was tempted to drive past him, just to see what would happen, but in the end, he did stop and let Derek climb into the car.
"Which puddle did you come from?" Peter wondered because as far he knew there was no body of water anywhere around here. Not that he knew this side of the town that well. Since he was kind of living here now, he probably should change that.
"There's a small pond over there," Derek answered with a nod in that direction. "It's mostly grown over."
"I wanted to ask you something." Peter brought the car back on the road. Next to him Derek just sat there with a puddle forming around his feet. Peter could hear the water dripping off him. "Can you bring me to Kate Argent?"
Derek didn't answer for a long moment but then he said: "Yes."
Peter had to keep his eyes on the road but he did notice Derek looking right at him. As if he wanted to burn a hole into his skull.
"Do you want to kill her?" Derek asked.
"Yes." Peter tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "I am going to kill her, with or without your help. Would be easier if you just whisked me to her." He gave Derek a winning smile but it showed a bit too much canine to count as friendly.
"Heard you want her dead as well," Peter continued. "Let's work together, you can bring us there and I don't mind the killing. Quite the opposite." His eyes flashed at the thought of his claws ripping into her.
"Okay." With that, Derek turned his head to look straight ahead but it looked like they had a deal.
For the rest of the ride, Peter thought about how he wanted to kill Kate. If he wanted to do it quickly or draw it out, if he would need some tools or if his claws would be enough. The scenarios playing in his head grew more gruesome by the minute but by the time he walked with Derek down the path leading to the lake, he'd settled for just his claws. He would play it by ear from there.
Derek waded into the lake without breaking stride but Peter hesitated when the water was up to his chest. Stiles usually dove in without a second thought but to Peter, this was still new. Every time he walked into the lake, his instincts were telling him that it was a bad idea. He took a deep breath when he went under and it was still a leap of faith when he exhaled underwater. Stiles found it hilarious but he wasn't here to witness it this time.
Instead of bringing him to Kate right away, Derek led him deeper into the water.
"What are we waiting for?" Peter caught up with him. Derek had kept his form but it was blurred around the edges.
"Give yourself some time," Derek said in his head and even if Peter still saw him right in front of him, he could feel him all around him in the water. "Otherwise I'll have to bring you back right away."
"You want me to take my time?" Peter let himself sink into the presence around him. He'd never thought that he would be able to let go like this, for sure not putting his life into the hands of another person like this, but Derek was different. Stiles had tried to describe it to him but words weren't enough to describe the feeling of peace and quiet down here. With Derek he was perfectly safe, nothing could reach him down here.
"She hurt you," came Derek's answer from everywhere around him.
"Why me?" Peter asked.
Stiles had been the first and only one Derek had taken in. According to Stiles, he wouldn't have rescue John this way and he was like a father to Stiles. But for some reason, Derek had decided that he wanted to save Peter.
"It felt right," Derek answered. "You're what Johnathan Hale was supposed to give me."
"A hostage?" That was the only reason Peter could think of why Derek had wanted a pack member in the first place.
"A connection," Derek corrected. "You're the left hand, you're the one who keeps the pack safe, the one who takes care of any threat."
"And now I'm immortal." Peter nodded in understanding. "I can watch over my pack forever now."
"It's your decision but you can if you want. As long as the pack stays in the area they have somebody watching over them." Derek wrapped himself more tightly around Peter. "They promised to keep people away from my lake and I promised them a safe place."
It made sense.
"And Stiles likes you," Derek added. His form had dissolved but Peter could still hear the smirk in his voice.
They stayed like this for a little while longer but then Derek decided that Peter had stayed long enough.
"I can bring you to Kate Argent now," Derek said.
There was the by now familiar rush and then they were standing in a kitchen. It was empty but there was somebody in the next room. Peter only picked up one heart-beat, looked like Kate was alone.
While Peter was still trying to get a feeling for his surroundings, Derek walked out of the kitchen. He was met with two bullets to the chest but he kept walking.
Since they were busted anyway, Peter followed him.
"What do you want from me?" Kate asked and fired two more rounds. Derek didn't even flinch. "I didn't touch your precious little Stiles. He wasn't even in the house."
"More by accident than anything else." Peter had caught up with Derek. "You didn't know that he would leave early."
"Peter Hale." She took in his sight with an approving smile. "Last I heard you were burned to crisps."
"I got better." Peter made sure to stay mostly behind Derek. "Nice place."
It was a modern building but surrounded by woods. Chances were high that nobody had heard the gunshots. They had time. Peter smiled.
"You know, I can kind of appreciate your work," Peter admitted. "You had a good plan, executed it perfectly and if it hadn't been for Stiles, you would have succeeded in murdering my whole family. But the way you used my niece …" Peter felt his eyes lit up at that thought alone.
"That's a bit rich coming from you, isn't it?" She put her hand on her hip but kept the one with the gun aimed at Peter. "Didn't you do the exact same thing? With the sheriff's nephew, no less. You have some balls, I have to admit that. Seducing Stiles and siccing him on your own niece."
"We're nothing alike." Ignoring the gun Peter stepped forward. "Stiles was in your class to keep an eye on you. He and Cora barely know each other. He knew why I wanted him there and he was a willing participant."
"Let me guess, he was also a willing participant when he sucked your dick?" Kate spat the words at him.
"Yes." The gun was following him but Peter didn't care that much. Getting shot would suck but the bullets she had left were hardly enough to kill him. And even if, once Derek brought him back to the lake, he would recover even from death. Stiles had said so and he had spoken from experience there.
"But unlike Cora," Peter continued. "Stiles is not a teenager, hasn't been for a long time. You might have guessed that he's not quite what meets the eye from his connection to Derek here."
So far Derek had just been standing there with a growing puddle around his feet but now he locked eyes with Kate.
"I told you to stay away from Stiles," he said. "Turned out I don't like you hurting Peter either."
The gun wavered over to Derek at that statement, just a fraction while Kate tried to keep an eye on both of them.
That fraction was enough for Peter.
The shot rang in his ears but the bullet went into the ceiling and then the gun clattered to the floor.
"I want an apology," Peter said in a low voice. He was standing behind her, his claws on her throat. "Apologize for what you've done to my family. Apologize for burning me alive and putting me in a coma. Apologize for what you did to Cora. She tried to kill herself because of what you did to her."
Peter didn't expect her to apologize for anything and for a long second she didn't say a word but then she said: "I'm sorry."
She swallowed around the claws pricking into her skin.
Peter ripped out her throat.
Blood splattered against the window and Kate went down in a gargled scream.
From across the room, Derek was watching her bleeding out, his face unreadable.
"I don't know about you, Derek, but that apology didn't sound very sincere."
Peter took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off his hand. Like the rest of his clothes, the fabric was dripping wet which kind of dampened the effect but at least it did a good job, cleaning his hand.
"We should leave." Derek had one last look at the body on the floor before he turned back to the kitchen.
Derek brought them back the same way they had come and a second later they were back in the lake.
Peter let his body float, his mind empty.
"Where have you been?" Suddenly Stiles was right next to him. "Is that blood? Oh my god, that's blood. Did you kill somebody? Was it Kate? Did you kill Kate?" Stiles took him in for a moment longer. "You totally killed Kate."
Even diluted by the water around them Peter caught Stiles' scent. He was turned on by this.
Stiles smashed their mouths together in a hungry kiss.
"Fuck me." Stiles climbed into his lap. "Give me a good old post-murder fucking."
"Here?" Peter drew back with a glance at where Derek was watching them but right on cue his face dissolved and Peter felt his presence fading.
"I've been fantasizing about fucking you down here since Derek brought you here." Stiles wormed his hands under Peter's shirt, his hips grinding into him. They were partly occupying the same space. Down here their bodies were not quite solid.
It was like nothing Peter had ever felt before. Partly it was the adrenaline rush from killing Kate but the bigger part was how intimate he could get with Stiles here. They clung to each other and Peter couldn't tell where he ended and Stiles began. They were moving as one. Peter wasn't even sure who was fucking whom but they were so close it didn't matter.
Stiles came first with his head thrown back in a toneless cry but Peter followed only seconds later. They stayed close like this for a long moment, their combined semen floating around them. And in them which was kind of weird.
"So you did let Derek watch." Stiles grinned at him.
