Hi everyone! I hope you are all enjoying this story so far! I have so many things planned for this along with Awake and Alive and Scars so it means so much to me to have your love and support! I don't intend to rush Derek and Anabelle because I want their feelings to actually develop for each other, especially since Anabelle doesn't know about the mate thing yet so please be patient as they won't get together until season 3. It'll be so worth the wait, I promise! Plus I know Derek seems a little OOC, but I don't care. I love seeing our favorite sour wolf soften up!
Enjoy!
The pure wolf woke up not too long after the talk with Deaton. Once she and Scott were stable enough, Derek took them to the subway station. He had let Anabelle wear one of his Henley shirts since she was still nude from being the shifted the entire night. It was big on her, just long enough to reach the middle of her thick thighs so she wasn't exposing her lower area.
Derek couldn't help but think how right it felt to see her wearing something of his. Back in high school he always hated when girls would wear their boyfriend's letterman jackets or hoodies. It was just so corny and it made them look like their whole worlds surrounded around their boyfriends. But now seeing her in one of his shirts, even though it was nothing new to him, Derek finally understood why they liked wearing their stuff. They wanted to show everyone who they belonged to.
Not that Anabelle belonged to him. Well, technically, yes, being Derek's true mate did mean she belonged to him. But she didn't know that. She may never will. It was just the harsh reality.
As is the fact that Jackson is just becoming even more difficult to catch. He had ended up killing the person he was set out to at the rave from what Delilah had told him. They couldn't rely on saving him anymore.
"I'm saying we need a new plan," Derek told Scott and Anabelle as they stepped into the subway car, "because next time, one of us is gonna be too hurt to heal." He sat down and Scott and Anabelle leaned against a couple of the poles.
"Ugh, I get it," Scott groaned, knowing Derek was right, "We can't save Jackson."
"We can't seem to kill him either," Anabelle sighed.
"We've seen a lot of things, Scott," Derek said, referring to himself and the she-wolf, "We've never seen anything like this. Every new moon's just gonna make him stronger."
"But how do we stop him?" teen wolf asked.
Shrugging, Derek admitted, "I don't know. I don't even know if we can."
"Maybe we should just let the Argents handle it."
Which wasn't necessarily a bad idea at this point in Anabelle's opinion. She was super against it when Gerard and Chris cornered her in the woods. While she still didn't like the fact that the Argents would be in control, they're running out of options. Even Derek knew that.
But like the stubborn man he was, he shook his head. "I'm the one who turned him. It's my fault."
"Yeah, but you didn't turn him into this," Scott countered, "I mean, this happened because of something in his past, right?"
"That's a legend in a book. It's not that simple."
"What do you mean? What are you not telling me?"
"Why do you think I'm always keeping something from you?"
"Because you always are keeping something from me."
"Okay, okay," Anabelle stepped in before things could get heated. She placed her hand on Scott's shoulder. "He does have a point though, Derek. You do tend to not tell the truth sometimes."
"Well, maybe I do it to protect you guys," the alpha said.
"Doesn't being part of your pack mean no more secrets?" Scott asked.
Immediately Derek's eyes went to Anabelle who was waiting for him to answer. He agreed that they should be honest with each other if they were going to work together. That was what Anabelle fought for this entire time. And Derek knew she was still hesitant but she was starting to come around. Both her and Scott were.
There were some things that he had to keep to himself though. Including the truth about him and Anabelle's destiny together. It's not like he wanted to hide things from them anymore, but sometimes he had no other choice. It was for their own good. They'll understand someday.
"Go home, Scott," Derek told him, "Sleep. Heal. Make sure your friends are safe. 'Cause the full moon's coming. And with the way things are going, I've got a feelings it's gonna be a rough one."
"Do you need a ride home?" Anabelle asked.
"No, that's okay," Scott told her, "I should go check on Stiles and Natalie, anyway. Thank you, though." With a small smile, he left the station.
Silence filled the car. Both of them were so tired. Anabelle especially since she was still healing. The pain in her thigh, which was wrapped, was subsiding every minute. But it was still uncomfortable to stand so she sat across from Derek. He was looking down at his hands. Anabelle could tell he was stressed. She did feel for him. This couldn't have been easy for him to lead a not well-prepared pack into a situation they might not be able to solve.
"Scott was right about one thing," Anabelle spoke up, "This was not your doing. You can't blame yourself."
"I never should have bitten him in the first place," Derek said.
"Maybe not," the she-wolf agreed, "but no one could have predicted this."
Derek finally looked up at the woman across from him. "I'm surprised you're not saying 'I told you so' right now. You're always so quick to do that."
"I don't always like being right."
"That's a first." Derek cracked a small laugh when Anabelle rolled her eyes.
"Are we crazy for not giving up on Jackson?" she asked, "It might not be unreasonable to just let the Argents deal with it."
"Since when did you start thinking that they should take control?"
Raking back her hair, Anabelle sighed. "After I picked up Isaac and Delilah from the police station the other night, I went out for a run in the preserve. Gerard and Chris found me."
"Anabelle, why didn't you tell me?" Derek groaned, "You know they're already out to get you."
"I know. They wanted me to talk you out of going after the kanima in exchange for them not killing me. They were basically trying to get me to turn you in. But obviously I chose to stick by you."
"So why are you questioning it now?"
"Because people are still dying. It won't be long until it starts trying to kill these kids. We still don't know a lot about this thing and it seems like Gerard knows more on how to stop it than he's letting on."
"That doesn't mean he has to right intentions," Derek countered, "We cannot give up to them, Anabelle. You of all people should get that. Jackson is my responsibility and it's up to us to stop this. I need you on my side for once."
Anabelle pondered on his words. Why did the man have to be so goddamn stubborn? She was pretty stubborn too. But right now, she just needed to pick and choose her battles. And Derek was the alpha. She just had to let him take the lead and even actually trust him.
So she nodded her head. "Okay. I'm on your side."
"Thank you," Derek said softly.
"I should probably get going," Anabelle said. She slightly winced as she stood up.
"Are you going to be okay to get home?" Derek asked, ready to come to his mate's side and help her.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she told him, "I have to get Delilah's car back to the apartment anyway."
She held out her hand so Derek could give her the keys. When he did, his fingers brushed against hers (it may or may not have been on purpose, he would never tell) and he felt that spark again. Now that he knew what it meant, Derek wanted to take every opportunity he could get to feel that little jolt of electricity running through his body. He looked up at Anabelle to see if she had any sort of reaction from it too.
Nothing.
That was disappointing. Derek didn't expect anything from her. But that didn't make all of this less discouraging. He was just going to have to take the small smile Anabelle offered before she started to walk away.
But then she stopped. She held onto on of the poles as she contemplated something in her head. Should she ask? She was still dying to know what her brothers were keeping from her. After a small debate, Anabelle turned to Derek.
"When Gerard and Chris found me, they mentioned something about a family secret. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Does Derek say anything? Anabelle was practically opening the door for him to tell her. But he made a promise. And if he wanted to bond to be genuine, he had to lie. He made sure to keep his heartbeat steady so she couldn't hear it skip.
"No. I don't know anything about a family secret."
Anabelle didn't seem too satisfied with his answer, but she just pursed her lips and nodded her head. "I'll see you tomorrow, Derek. Have a good night."
He watched her leave. This was going to be harder than he thought. But he needed to focus. The full moon was in just a few days, and like he said to Scott, there was no way of knowing how tough this night was going to be for everyone. So it was time Derek pulled himself together and start preparing.
Full moons were always hard on the pure wolf. While Anabelle was able to control herself better each time, she still could feel every effect it had on her. It was painful, like she could feel her insides being set on fire. Sometimes she couldn't breathe and felt like she was suffocating. There were some full moons where she wished she were dead so she wouldn't have to go through with it.
It was harder when she didn't have an alpha to help her. With her mom or Talia, they were so good at bringing her back down to earth. Caleb had become the alpha in their smaller family when their mother died and while he wasn't Claire, he still was able to help Anabelle get through each full moon she was with them for.
Now she had to take care of herself. It was a huge struggle when Anabelle had to go through it by herself when she was living in Italy. She had no one to help lock her up or talk her down from wanting to rip apart everything in her path. There were even some nights she would claw at her own body that way she could feel some relief and decrease the urge to go after someone else. It was scary going through it all alone. Especially now that she was an omega, who always had it worse than an alpha or beta.
Tonight she wouldn't be alone though. This wasn't going to be her first full moon while being back in Beacon Hills, but it was going to be the first time she won't be tied down. During the last one, after they had broke Isaac out of jail, Anabelle had to chain herself to her bedpost to get through the rest of the night. She never told Derek that. Not that it was any of his business anyway. But tonight had to be different. Anabelle had three betas and one hybrid that needed the help and attention more than she did. And she knew Derek couldn't handle them alone, so she had to be strong enough to put her own difficulties to the side and help him.
Maybe having Derek with her might make it less painful for her, too. Back when they were younger and going through this together, they had always been each other's anchors. Even after the fire that did not change. Anabelle tried to change it, but she just couldn't. Her wolf wouldn't allow her to. She was basically forced to overlook everything that happened with Derek and Kate and just remember the fonder memories before then. It was annoying. But it did end up providing a long-lost comfort Anabelle didn't realize she missed.
And if tonight was going to be as tough as Derek predicted, she was going to have to rely on those memories again.
After getting dressed in a cream colored tank top, distressed jeans, and her boots, Anabelle met with Isaac in the living room. Delilah had gone to Deaton's office to do her own prepping before she would meet with the pack at the subway station later so Isaac was tagging along with the pure wolf.
"You ready, kid?" Anabelle asked the beta.
"To go to the station or for tonight?" Isaac asked.
Anabelle shrugged. "Both."
"Yes and… no."
"You'll be okay," Anabelle told him, "You've already gone through it once. The first time is always the most uncomfortable."
"That's funny," Isaac snorted, "That's the same thing they told us in sex ed last year."
"Sometimes I forget you're still a sixteen year old boy," the pure wolf chuckled awkwardly, "Hey, do you mind if we make one quick stop before going to the station?"
"Sure."
They ended up making a couple of stops. The first one being at the flower shop, which Isaac made a comment on everything coming full circle since that was where they first met. After that, Anabelle drove them to the cemetery, which was not as gleeful for either one of them.
Isaac chose to stay in the car and Anabelle didn't blame him for that since that was where he used to work with his dad. So Anabelle took the bouquet of white peonies, her mother's favorite, and walked to the wall where her parents' ashes were kept. She took out the wilting flowers from when she came the month before and replaced them with the new ones. But she didn't leave right after that. Instead, Anabelle sat on the bench in front of the wall and kept her eyes on her parents' names. She let out a sigh.
"I wish you guys were still here."
She didn't know how long she was sitting there before Isaac had sit down next to her. He rested his elbows on his knees.
"Does it get easier?" he asked her.
"Some days," Anabelle said honestly, "but on days like today, no. I may be in my twenties, but sometimes you still just need your parents' guidance, you know?"
"I get that," Isaac said, "My dad wasn't always abusive. It was after my mom died when things started to get bad. I don't know if I could forgive him for everything he's done. But… there are times I can't help but miss him. At least the man that he used to be."
"That's perfectly understandable. Just remember that you're not alone anymore, Isaac. You have a family within your pack. Especially in Delilah. We're all here for you."
This made Isaac crack a small smile. "It's hard to believe that someone as nice as you could actually be friends with Derek."
"He'll never admit it, but sometimes he could be a real softy," Anabelle laughed, "Don't let him tell you otherwise."
They shared one last laugh before Anabelle suggested they head over to the subway station. Derek was already there along with Erica and Boyd. As soon as the alpha saw Anabelle walk in, he headed over to her.
"How are you doing so far?" he asked quietly.
"I'm fine, why?" Anabelle questioned.
"I just remember full moons being hard on you, that's all," Derek said, "I wanted to be sure you were going to be okay with helping me tonight."
"Yeah, I will be. Don't worry about me tonight. Let's just make sure these kids are taken care of."
Derek was still concerned for his mate, but he didn't question it any further. So he just kneeled in front of the trunk with all of their equipment and opened it up.
"What is that?" Isaac asked as he traced the image on the inside of the lid.
"It's a triskele," Boyd answered, surprising everyone in the room, "Spirals mean different things- past, present, future. Mother, father, child."
"Very good, Boyd," Anabelle smiled, "I'm impressed."
"You know what it means to me?" Derek asked.
"Alpha, beta, omega?" Boyd guessed.
This seemed to impress Derek as well. "That's right." He stood up. "It's a spiral. Reminds us that we can all rise to one or fall to another. Betas can become alphas, but alphas can also fall to betas or even omegas."
"Like Anabelle and Scott?" Isaac asked.
"Anabelle's with us," Derek said as he looked at the woman. She nodded much to his relief. "Scott is too."
"Really?" Isaac looked around the area. "Then where is he now?"
"He's looking for Jackson," Anabelle told him, "Don't worry, he's not gonna have an easy night tonight either."
"None of us will," Derek added, "There's a price you pay for this kind of power. You get the ability to heal, but tonight you're gonna want to kill anything you can find." He handed Isaac some chains.
"Good thing I had my period last week then," Erica smirked.
The disgusted looks on Boyd and Isaac's faces made Anabelle want to laugh. God, the teenage girl can be funny. Even Derek couldn't hold back a chuckle. But that might have been because of the next thing he decided to pull out of the trunk, which was a metal headband with spikes on the inside.
"Well, this one's for you."
Erica's face fell as she stared at the torture device in Derek's hand. Anabelle grabbed it from him, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. "Damn, this sure does take me back."
"Is Delilah going to have to wear that too?" Isaac asked, concern lacing his voice.
"We don't know yet," Derek answered, "It all depends on what the vet tells her. Because she's a hybrid, we're not sure what will happen to her. Which side will take over. If anything, we might have to isolate her."
"What?!" Isaac freaked.
Anabelle could see the boy not liking the idea of not being with his girlfriend during her first full moon.
"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," the she-wolf said softly, placing her hand on Isaac's shoulder.
Suddenly the station became darker. All of them looked out the window and saw the sun beginning to set. The betas looked at each other with hesitation as Derek looked at Anabelle. She nodded her head.
It was getting close.
"The full moon's almost here," the alpha spoke up, "You three stay here. Anabelle and I will go start setting up."
Giving one last encouraging nod to the teenagers, Anabelle followed Derek, who was carrying the trunk, into the subway car. He set it down and together they started to pull out the equipment. Derek watched Anabelle closely as she pulled out the spiked headband and observed it. Her face was blank but he knew her well enough to know how she was during the full moon.
"You seem nervous," Derek pointed out.
"Do I?" Anabelle asked, not taking her eyes off the headband, "I hadn't noticed."
Derek took the headband out of her hands and tossed it back in the trunk so she was forced to look at him. When she did, her eyes seemed to soften just a bit. He could also hear her heart beating a tad faster, but Derek wasn't sure if that was because of the full moon or how close they were.
"Talk to me. What's going on?"
Her eyes darted back and forth between him and the entrance to the car. Sighing, Anabelle crossed her arms. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea to have me help."
"Why would you say that?" Derek asked.
"This is going to be the first full moon when I'm not chained up," Anabelle finally told him.
"Really?" She nodded. "But you weren't chained up during the last moon. You seemed fine then."
"No I wasn't. I had to restrain myself when I got home."
Furrowing his eyebrows, Derek said, "You never told me that."
"I also wasn't your biggest fan two weeks ago," Anabelle scoffed. She picked the headband back up. "If at any point tonight you feel like you need to lock me up, you have my full permission."
"No."
Well that was unexpected. Anabelle looked up at Derek. "No?"
"I'm not locking you up." The alpha threw the headband back down. "I know I keep saying that I needed your help. But you need to let me help you too. This is hard for you, I know. It's hard for me too. And I can only imagine how alone you felt when you were in Italy or even with your brothers. But tonight you are going to beat this full moon. No chains, no headbands. Just me and whatever is your anchor. This is where I need you to put your trust in me. Can you do that?"
Every single word took Anabelle by surprise. It was just like when they were teenagers. Derek's eyes were staring deep into hers, something Anabelle was not used to now that he wasn't glaring at her. He actually wanted to help her. It was a hard truth to wrap her head around. And it was scary. But it was time Anabelle started letting her guard down.
Taking a deep breath, she nodded her head.
"Yes."
"Ahem."
Both of them snapped their heads towards the entrance to see Erica and Boyd watching them. A signature smirk was plastered on the blonde.
"Are we interrupting something?" she asked.
The older wolves looked down and saw Derek's hands holding onto Anabelle's. She immediately pulled her hands away. Derek wanted to cringe at the sudden movement, but he mostly wanted to strangle the two teenagers.
"What are you guys doing?" he asked instead.
"We're starting to feel it," Boyd said.
"And where's Isaac?" Anabelle wondered.
"He's waiting for Delilah," Erica answered, "She's on her way here."
"Then let's get started," Derek said, "Boyd, come here."
Said boy sauntered over to the alpha. Derek had him stand against the wall of the car so he could start locking his wrists up. At some point while he was doing that, Isaac and Delilah finally entered the car. Derek stopped after working on one of Boyd's wrist and looked at the young couple. The poor girl looked terrified.
"Well?" Derek asked her.
"Deaton basically just said I'm more of a danger to myself than I am to you guys," Delilah said.
"You think you'll be able to handle being in here with everyone else?"
Delilah nodded. "I think so."
"That's good then," Anabelle said, "At least we can keep an eye on all of you at the same time." Derek nodded in agreement and continued to lock Boyd up.
"What if we break free?" the boy asked.
"Then you'll do anything you can to get out of here," Derek said, "Probably try to kill Anabelle and me, then kill each other and kill anything else with a heartbeat." He picked up the headband and looked at Anabelle. "I need you to hold her."
The she-wolf hooked her arms underneath Erica's and kept a tight grip on her.
"So how come she gets to wear the headband?" Isaac asked.
"Because she and Delilah will be able to withstand the pain better than the two of you," Derek answered, "I've got an extra one if you really want it."
Isaac shook his head. "I'll pass." Erica scoffed.
"You ready?" Derek asked the beta.
"Yeah," Erica said nervously.
She gripped onto the pole next to her as she braced herself for what was about to happen. Derek lowered the headband onto her head and began to tighten the screw.
At first it was uncomfortable, gasps escaping every so often. But then the spikes began to drill even deeper into her skull. Erica screamed in agony at the sensation and it was hard for everyone to watch. Even for Derek and Anabelle but they had to keep a straight face as Erica tried to squirm out of their grasp. Blood ran down her head as the headband became tighter.
Then they heard another scream. Everyone looked toward Delilah, who was holding onto her own head and crying out like she was the one who was being tortured. Isaac held onto her to keep her from falling although he wasn't sure what was going on. Derek and Anabelle looked at each other.
"She can feel Erica's pain," Anabelle realized.
"Isaac, sit her down," Derek ordered, "Hurry!"
And the boy did as he was told. The alpha adjusted a second headband onto Delilah as Isaac held her down. All of the screaming of bloody murder was becoming like nails on a chalkboard to Anabelle. How Derek could be so stoic through this was beyond her. She was trying her hardest to be strong since she was still holding onto Erica but she could definitely feel herself crumbling.
Especially now that the effects of the full moon was creeping into her as well.
"It hurts!" Erica cried, writhing in the she-wolf's arms.
"I know, honey," Anabelle cooed, doing her best to soothe the girl, "but you have to stay strong. You cannot let this beat you."
"How are you doing this?" Boyd asked, starting to struggle as well, "You seem way too calm."
He had no idea.
"I'm learning every single time," Anabelle told them, trying to block out Delilah's screams, "just as you guys will too. Trust the process."
After Derek finished securing the hybrid, he then began to work on Isaac. Since he had already experienced the full moon once before, he was going to be a little bit easier to manage. But it was still hitting him hard as Derek had him sit across from Delilah so he could keep an eye on her.
"How do you not feel this?" Isaac asked, groaning as Derek strapped him to the seat.
"I feel every second of it," Derek told him.
"Then how do you control it?"
"Find an anchor," Derek answered, "Something meaningful to you. Bind yourself to it. Keep the human side in control."
"What is it for you?" Isaac wondered.
His eyes didn't hesitate to find her. She was still with Erica and Boyd, giving them the pep talk they desperately needed. As much as he knew that she was struggling herself, she was handling this like a champion. It was something he had always admired about her. That among many other things.
"Anger," Derek lied, breaking his gaze from Anabelle and turning back to Isaac, "But it doesn't have to be that for everybody."
"You mean Scott?" Isaac asked.
"Yeah." Derek finished strapping Isaac up. "Alright, that should do it."
Just as he set up the last latch, Isaac yanked his arm back, making the leg on the seat in front of him detach from the floor. The alpha's eyes grew wide.
"Derek?"
Said man turned his head to see Anabelle backing away slowly from Erica and Boyd. The two betas were growling at her, fangs bare and eyes amber.
Let the rumble begin.
Anabelle kept her composure as best as she could, especially when Erica and Boyd tried to lunge at her, ready to attack. Her own fangs were creeping out. She didn't want to panic. But there was no way Anabelle could prevent herself from shifting while trying to fight off the betas. Especially since she knew they were going to break out of their chains at some point.
"Call Scott," Anabelle growled out to Derek, "Get him over here now."
"I'm not leaving you in here alone with them," he fought back.
"Fuck, Derek, can you listen to me for just once?!" Anabelle snapped, "Call him now!"
Derek hesitated, but he knew his mate wasn't going to back down. So he ran out of the car so he could make this as quick as possible. He dialed Scott's number. It rang a few times but it went to voicemail.
"Scott, can you call me back?" Derek said, "Anabelle and I are probably gonna need some help."
CLANG!
Sighing in exasperation, Derek said to himself, "Definitely gonna need some help."
With a flick of his claws, the alpha headed back inside the car. Delilah was still screaming and squirming on the floor but she didn't seem to be trying to break from her chains so Derek just moved past her. Isaac tried to lunge at him but he ignored him too. His main concern was the other two betas, who about to break out. Anabelle backed up towards Derek. They looked at each other, nodded, and prepared to fight.
Erica was the first to release herself. She ripped off the headband and threw it onto the floor. Just as she swiped at Derek, Anabelle grabbed her and knocked her onto the seats. Isaac suddenly broke free but when Derek tried to go for him, the beta jumped out of the car window and took off. Boyd grabbed Derek and threw him down. Then he and Erica started clawing at their alpha. Anabelle grabbed the girl's arms and pulled her away so she could drag her back to lock her up again. But Erica elbowed her in the face, making the she-wolf fall back.
"Anabelle!" Derek called for his mate when Erica started scratching at her too.
But Anabelle had to prove that she could do this on her own. So she pushed herself up and kicked Erica in the chest, making her fall. The beta growled and was ready to pounce again but Anabelle punched her in the face to get her to stay down. Trying this again, the pure wolf grabbed Erica's wrist and pulled her back to the pole. Anabelle then successfully locked Erica's wrists to the pole.
Over at Boyd, he had pushed past Derek and jumped on Delilah, the hybrid out of her chains as well. The two started going at it but Boyd obviously had the upper hand. Isaac had ran back in the car when he saw his girlfriend being attacked and pinned Boyd down. The boy actually seemed to be more in control of his shift. Anabelle couldn't help but feel proud.
Screams filled the air again and Derek and Anabelle saw Delilah scratching at herself like a madwoman. Blood was dripping all over her and they knew she would die if she kept going.
"Go help her," Anabelle told Derek.
"Are you sure?" Derek asked.
"Yes, I'm sure," Anabelle said. The man really needed to just listen the first time. "Isaac and I can handle Boyd. Just save Delilah."
Derek didn't question her any further this time and went to get Delilah to calm down. Isaac still had Boyd in his hold so Anabelle took this opportunity to punch Boyd in the jaw. The beta fell unconscious. Anabelle wasted no time in dragging him back to his spot while Isaac went over to his girlfriend.
By the time Anabelle was sure Erica and Boyd were knocked out and won't be moving any time soon, Delilah had finally stopped screaming and relaxed, seeming to finally have gained control as well. Anabelle decided to take care of the hybrid while Derek chained Isaac back to his seat, fully willing.
"Think you'll be okay now," Derek told the beta, "Looks like you found an anchor."
"Her," Isaac answered, staring at Delilah with a small smile.
The alpha couldn't help but shake his head. "Just like Scott, huh?"
"I know what you're thinking," Isaac said, "It's the same thing everyone else has been telling us this entire time. We're too young, we fell in love too fast… we've heard it all already. But we don't care."
"Let me guess, it's one of those 'when you know you know' things," Derek said.
"It is. She's not just some high school crush. I knew I loved her ever since I first laid eyes on her back when we were in the second grade. It's like… I look at her and suddenly the world doesn't seem so bad. She actually makes life worth living. She's seen on my best and worst days and still chooses to stand by me, even though I'm sure it's not easy for her. That girl deserves the whole world and I don't know if I can give that to her, but I wanna spend the rest of my life trying. Delilah's not just my girlfriend… she's also my best friend." Isaac chuckled and shook his head. "I wouldn't expect you to understand."
"Actually… I do."
Isaac looked up at Derek, who was staring off to the side. During that entire speech, his eyes were on the woman who was comforting Delilah and making sure she was taken care of. In that moment Anabelle looked so soft, so loving, so motherly… it took Derek's breath away. Even though she looked disheveled and her clothes were torn up and blood stained. Like her appearance, Anabelle's heart was so beautiful. Whether she would ever accept the bond or not, there was no one else Derek would have chosen to be his mate.
When Isaac looked to see what his alpha was staring at, his eyes widened as he connected the dots. "Oh."
There wasn't much else for Derek to say afterwards. Once he was sure that Isaac's wrists were secure enough, Derek left the car and sat on a crate. He took a deep breath. It's been a long night and all he wanted to do was sleep. Thankfully it was almost over. Derek was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn't even hear Anabelle walking over to him. It was only when she held out an open beer bottle in front of his face he looked up at her.
"Do you carry alcohol with you everywhere you go?" Derek asked, taking the beer anyway.
"No," Anabelle scoffed as she used her claw to open her bottle, "I just figured we could use one after this mess." She sat down next to Derek and held up her bottle. "Here's to us for not killing each other tonight. We did pretty good, Mr. Alpha."
They clinked their beers together.
"Please tell me 'Mr. Alpha' isn't going to become a regular thing now," Derek said.
"I could always go back to calling you 'Der-Bear' if that's what you prefer," Anabelle joked.
But Derek didn't find that funny. "Oh, fuck no. I swear, you're even worse at coming up with nicknames than I am."
"You know you love it," the pure wolf chuckled before taking a sip. "Seriously though, Derek. You should be proud of yourself. It couldn't have been easy dealing with a group of betas on top of an omega."
"Thanks. But don't make it seem like you were hard to work with. I honestly couldn't have done it without you."
If you pointed out that Anabelle was blushing she would've called you a liar. "You're just saying that."
"No, really, Anabelle," Derek said, "You handled yourself really well tonight. I know it was tough for you. But you should be proud of yourself too."
"I guess we really do make a good team," Anabelle smiled softly.
Hearing that made Derek's inner wolf howl happily and his heart flutter. Ugh, he felt like he was in one of those goddamn chick flicks. They took another drink, staying silent for a few moments.
"You know, you lied to Isaac earlier."
Derek furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Anabelle in confusion. "What did I lie about?"
"Your anchor," Anabelle specified, "When you said it was anger, your heart skipped a beat." So much for her not noticing. Derek just grunted and took another drink. "Hey, don't go all caveman on me here. So tell me. What's your real anchor?"
"You really wanna know?" Derek asked. Anabelle nodded. "It's you."
It was a good thing the woman didn't drink anymore of her beer or else she'd be choking on it. "Me? After all these years?"
"It's always been you, Anabelle," Derek told her, "You know that. I always thought of you as my best friend. That never changed."
"But… I hated you."
"That doesn't mean that I hated you."
To say Anabelle was shocked by the confession would have been an understatement. For a few seconds too long her face was unreadable and it was actually making Derek anxious. Was she going to be weirded out? Repulsed? Maybe he shouldn't have said anything.
Wait… was she actually… smiling?
Granted it was a soft one, but it was still a smile nonetheless. It was enough to ease Derek's nerves. This was so out of character for him. Since when did he care about other people's feelings and opinions? But this also wasn't just any person- it was Anabelle Fierro, his best friend… and now his mate. That was still hard for him to wrap his head around.
The smile didn't last, however. It went away as soon as Anabelle looked up in front of her. She set down her beer and stood up. When Derek looked in the same direction, he was just as confused when he saw Lydia walking towards them. They both slowly met her halfway through the station.
Raising her fist to her lips, Lydia uncurled her hand to reveal purple dust. She then blew it in their faces. Anabelle was the first to faint and Derek caught her. But he immediately fell with her when the effects of whatever Lydia blew at them took over him too. Then they slipped into darkness…
Everything was still groggy when Derek finally came to. He noticed he was being dragged throughout a house. But this house was dark and charred and smelled like ashes. This had to be his and Anabelle's former house.
Anabelle.
Derek caught her vanilla scent and saw from the corner of his eye that she was being dragged by Lydia as well. She kept moaning in pain, something that always made the alpha uneasy.
"Lydia…" He tried to get the girl's attention. But she didn't respond. "Lydia…"
She laid the two wolves next to a hole that was in the middle of the wooden floor. In that hole was a man who was just as burnt as the house they were in. Lydia stretched Derek and Anabelle's arms over the hole and wrapped the burnt man's hands around them.
"What's happening?" Anabelle breathed out, eyes still shut.
"Lydia, stop," Derek tried once again, "You don't know what you're doing."
Lydia stood up and walked to the spot in the room where the full moon done through the hole in the ceiling. She then tilted a mirror which the moonlight reflected off of including a few other mirrors that were set up around them. That light traveled to the man. His claws dug into Derek and Anabelle's forearms causing them to bleed and groan at the pain. Both of their eyes shot open with a gasp and they flashed their red and blue colors for just a split second.
Their eyes went back to normal and they started to breathe heavily. They looked at each other scared and unsure what was going on. The man then shot up out of the floor and slowly straightened himself. Derek grabbed Anabelle's arm to pull her towards him and away from the man and she let him. She was too hypnotized by the sight in front of her to protest.
"I heard there was a party," the man said. He then looked up at the two mates and Lydia. Derek and Anabelle couldn't believe who it was standing right there.
Peter.
"Don't worry. I invited myself."
I hope you guys enjoyed this one! I would also really appreciate if you reviewed, favorited, and followed all of the stories in my Teen Wolf Saga, which includes Awake and Alive and Scars. Like I said before, I have so many plans for these stories and your love is what keeps me going! I'll be sure to update soon! Xoxo, Maddie