Derek called Mara before she had the chance.
She thought she might have a moment of peace to enjoy her morning before reaming him out, but she was interrupted by the sound of her phone before she could even sit down to eat. She briefly looked at the time, as Peter and Leila looked up towards the sound of Sandman.
Ten-thirty flashed on the oven at her.
Great.
She swiped, putting it to her ear as she turned back to leave the kitchen. The annoyance in her tone was evdent when she answered.
"Hello?"
"I figured out where they are. We're planning an attack." Derek's gruff voice crackled through her receiver. Mara scoffed. Peter had located them the second they stepped over their borders. They had no reason to hide. An attack on them on their turf was suicidal, at best.
"Interesting. Anything else happen lately you wanna share besides your plans to hand yourself over on a silver platter?" She retorted, with a knowing tone. Derek was silent on the other end. She didn't know if he was irritated, or genuinely confused.
"I don't know what's more important than that." He ground out. She felt like she could see the angry confusion crossing his expression. He could be so thick.
"Maybe the homeless kid Cole came home with last night can jog your memory." Mara replied blankly. Derek's tone immediately became defensive.
"I just did what I had to."
Mara scoffed.
"You acted irrationally out of fear."
"What else was I supposed to do?" He snapped.
"Yes, they're wolves, Derek, but they're kids too. You can't leave them without shelter or care." She hissed back.
Derek sat silently on the other end, to Mara's annoyance. It was his fault Isaac's father was dead, and he was a werewolf. How could he just throw him on the street?
"You had us and your sister to protect you, Isaac has nothing. You can fight this pointless battle the way he lives. Alone."
Mara hung up.
Mara jumped up at the sound of pounding, having drifted off on the arm of the couch. She looked up, blinking slowly towards the sound, coming from the front door. Peter had already laid his book down and rose to meet Cora, who she could now smell on the other side.
Cole, Isaac, and Lei had made their way to the top of the stairs already, peering down at the door. Cora brushed past Peter into the house the second the heavy wood swung open. Mara sat up straight, worry in her eyes, waking fully as her as her niece stopped in the doorway looking at her with a familiar darkness in her eyes.
"Derek is dead."
Once everyone had been calmed and settled as much as she could, Mara returned to her spot on the couch.
The time had shot past, the bleak darkness of midnight starting back at her from the window. There was a vague nausea threatening to overcome her since Cora had arrived, but now it was nearly unbearable.
Cole and Leila were now both sharing rooms. She had Derek's kids to look out for on top of the two she already had. They had no space or time. Cora had taken up on Leila's floor for now, but it wouldn't last long. Mara would have to put a fast forward on her plans, on top of dealing with the darach.
At least the alphas couldn't take much interest in them now. Her pack had no Alpha of its own. They were a vulnerable mess at this point. Mara couldn't have anticipated them killing Derek when they were supposed to be targeting him.
If Derek wasn't the target, then she still had to figure out who was. Add it to the list. Of course she'd have to hear an 'I told you so' from Peter. He'd never believed the Alpha's would come for just Derek.
At least she would have some time to scramble while all the teens went away on their trip. She had a few days to kick herself in gear and fix everything.
She sat there planning, knowing sleep wouldn't come tonight.
**Flashback**
"Derek, please." She pleaded, watching as he whipped around to face her. His expression contorted with anger.
"I won't run away. This is our home Mara." He snapped forcefully at her. They both looked around them at the ash and rubble.
"I'm trying to protect you." She shot back, motioning to the remains of the house.
"I won't leave Laura. Or Peter"
Mara sighed, rubbing the pin prick feeling in her eyes away. She was only doing what she had to.
"I can't control Laura, she's an adult, albeit barely. You're only 17, I don't want to leave you here."
"Then don't." He snapped again. She looked at him with her head tilted, frustration evident now. There was no holding back the tears now.
"You know I have to protect Cole and Leila. What is stopping this from happening again? You know it kills me to leave Beacon, so don't do that."
Derek looked at the ground, staring daggers. His arms crossed over his chest.
"You won't change my mind."
It was hard not to feel at fault. Derek wasn't a child anymore, but he remained the same stubborn fool. The events of the past years had hardened the heart that was always too big. She couldn't help but take blame for not helping him more. There was no way to force him to listen, but she couldn't help but feel she should have found one.
Peter and Cora were the last left of the once great Hale lineage as Cole and her were to the Lovell family. It felt like they couldn't catch a break. It was a constant fight just to exist. Cole and Leila had seen so much death in their young lives. They had all known nothing but fear since birth.
Perhaps it was a curse to constantly be on edge the way she was, or maybe it was a blessing. Maybe it was the reason her and the girls had survived until now.
Mara couldn't help but find her thoughts drifting back to the empty ache in her chest she was desperately ignoring.
She could look into those icy blue eyes again when she closed her own. The one thing that had never changed in the twenty-three years she had known Derek. The warm innocence and wonder turned to cold hatred all reflected in his eyes. She still remembered the sweet young boy, following her everywhere, insisting on helping with the children when she babysat him and his sister. Distracting the young toddlers for long enough that she could throw together some semblance of lunch.
Though the caring boy never went away, he created a facade of cockiness as he got older, much like his uncle. He became a bit of a show off, always competing with Laura.
She felt another small pang in her chest.
Mara had watched both of them grow up, as well as growing up with them. They had been amazing big brothers and sisters to Cole when Mara had to step up and take her mothers place. Mara had begun to take care of them like her own kids as she settled into the Hale house.
Losing her parents had been horrible. She had no clue what to do, or where to go. She didn't know what would come next.
Losing her pack was excruciating. Feeling what they felt still haunted her regularly, and she knew though he wouldn't say it, it got to Peter worse. It was beyond heartbreaking.
Losing Derek felt like a piece of her soul had been torn away. It had also triggered her to finally process that Laura was gone. There was nothing comparable to the thought of them being gone forever. It hurt more than anything.
She found herself turning over in her bed, towards the middle, to find Peter staring right at her.
"You want to come here?"
Mara stared at him for a moment. It was twelve years for them. Six married as of the past summer solstice. He had been her support and care system forever. He had raised the girls as much as her. He had grown into everything she could hope for, before the fire.
She wondered how it truly affected him. He had doubled down on the cockiness, but it felt forced. He would never admit it, but it was the constant argument they had. He was constantly worried about them. His fear ran rampant.
She wondered if it was survival guilt that pushed him so hard. Of course she felt the same thing come on every so often. That fire had been a massacre. Her and Peter's survival were all luck. Other than them, only children had been left, and Peter hadn't been looking all that well back then either. In a way she was thankful to be left with the girls. She never had the chance to slow down or overthink things, just get things done. All Peter had been able to do for years was think.
She knew the damage done to his mental health was deeply affecting him and how he acted, but she had no idea where to begin helping him. So she turned all the way to face the other side, and shifted herself back against his warm form. They only had an hour before all the chaos would begin again around them.
Thank you for reading 3 I've written 30 chapters of this and I'd like to start updating every week. I'm getting close to the end of this story, but I'm going to continue with a second instalment. Since I've written so far ahead, iIl be able to write that as I'm posting this so there's no wait time. I've considered writing a side fic based before the fire, that would be more focused on Peter and Mara's relationship. If anyone would be interested, let me know! Review pretty please? :)
