Chapter Seven
'No! We need to get to Derek!' I struggled against the arms that were around me and stopping me from rushing to the older wolf's aid.
'Stacey, stop!' Scott yelled, pinning me to the wall while Stiles slammed the school's front doors.
'We can't just leave him out there, Scott!' I screeched, the image of blood pouring from his mouth making me fight harder.
'Stacey, listen to me! We will find a way out of here and we will take him with us.' Scott's voice turned softer, the same tone that he used to use to calm me down after I had a nightmare when I was little.
'We better Scott.' I growled, feeling my eyes flash, 'he's saved our asses before and he'd do it again if this were the other way around.'
Scott nodded, releasing me when he noted that I had calmed down. We both turned to look over to our best friend, only to notice that he was about to run out of the door.
'What the hell are you doing?' Scott yelled moving to grab Stiles' arm.
'We need something to lock the doors.' Stiles muttered right before he sprinted out of the door, despite the yells of protest coming from Scott and I. Scott and I screamed at him to come back when we noticed the Alpha poised to strike behind him. He didn't need much encouragement and he was back inside the school with us at a speed that would have impressed coach.
'How do you plan to lock the doors with those?' I asked, eyeing the bolt cutters with clear scepticism.
Stiles didn't answer verbally; instead he just threaded each handle between the bars. Only then did he notice the dilemma. With an eye roll I stepped forward, I took a deep breath, and bent the handles so they curved and stopped them from falling off. Both boys looked mildly impressed but I just ignored them and dragged them away from the doors and into the closest classroom.
'What the hell are we going to do?' Stiles whisper-yelled, making me roll my eyes; him whispering wouldn't make the Alpha deaf to his words.
'I don't know!' Scott yelled back just as frantically.
'It's your boss!' Stiles looked in between the both of us, his eyes looking a little crazy.
'No it's not!' Scott denied it and I patted his shoulder, silently agreeing with him.
'Deaton disappears and that thing shows up to toss Derek through the air ten seconds later? That's not a coincidence.' Stiles argued, becoming more and more agitated.
'Okay, we can argue about this after we get out of here alive.' I muttered, stressing the last word of my sentence, trying to clue the boys in how much danger we were actually in.
'She's right.' My twin agreed, crossing his arms over his chest.
'Well what are we supposed to do?' Stiles basically screeched.
'We just need-,' Scott started but I slapped my hand over his mouth, he looked confused but remained quiet, two sets of eyes watching me as I started to rummage through the teacher's desk.
I could have cheered when I finally located a memo pad and pen, pulling both out of the draw and slapping them down on the desk in between the boys. They looked even more confused so I quickly wrote a short sentence to explain my actions.
The Alpha can hear us, voicing our plans isn't the smartest idea.
The boys' eyes clouded with realisation and Scott took the pen out of my hand and started writing a response.
Good thinking Stace. I was going to say we just need to get to Stiles' truck.
Stiles nodded and added to the plan.
We need a distraction. If he can hear us talking he'll be able to hear us heading for the truck.
I took the pen then.
How about we set off the fire alarms from one end of the school and then sprint to the other end? We'll have to be fast; though it won't talk it long to figure out it was a decoy.
They nodded their assent to my plan and with that we set off towards the back of the school, pretending to look for an exit out of the back. It was also where the fire alarm was located. Scott tried to open the doors, but when he was met with resistance none of us were surprised.
'What's up?' Stiles asked, playing along.
'It's blocked.' Scott muttered, he looked over to me and we braced ourselves, preparing to run. I nodded and then pulled the alarm, sprinting to the front exit, with Stiles and Scott not far behind me. We weren't that far from the front and when we busted out of the front door, Stiles went to start up the jeep while Scott and I went over to Derek and picked him up, each of us slinging an arm around his waist. I heard an enraged roar just after we had situated a bleeding and unresponsive Derek into the back of Roscoe.
'Stacey.' Scott whispered, panicked.
'Get in.' I growled allowing him to climb into the free back seat before taking my own seat in the passenger and turning to Stiles, 'drive.'
Stiles didn't need telling twice and floored the car, getting us off the school grounds in five seconds flat. Scott and I heard another roar that made us share a worried look, but when the howl disappeared into the night I let myself completely relax. We were heading back to the McCall house, knowing my mom wouldn't be home, when Scott piped up from the back.
'What time is it?'
'A little after eight.' I told him after I checked my phone, pulling my mom's coat tighter around me. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and the fear I had been surprising was coming back full force; I was getting my mom's scent from the coat and it was helping me stay calm.
'Can you drop me off at Allison's? I was supposed to be meeting her.' Scott murmured, sounding exhausted but I wasn't going to comment, I knew how much Allison meant to him.
'Sure.' Stiles replied, speaking for the first time in what felt forever.
The truck took a different turn to accommodate Scott's request and I leaned over the seat to check on Derek. His eyes were wide open, which was monumentally disturbing, but when I felt his pulse I relaxed, knowing he was healing. I assumed his body had shut down to accommodate the length that he had to heal, and from the deep claw marks in his abdomen he definitely had a long way to go. I felt the truck slow to a stop and silently clambered from the passenger seat to allow Scott the room to get out.
'Be careful, Stace. And keep me updated.' Scott hugged me and I returned the embrace, silently grateful that we had managed to get out unscathed. I just wish the same could have been said for Derek.
'I will. You too, Scotty.' I murmured into his chest, sending him a soft smile as he walked to Allison's front door. I made Stiles wait until he was safely inside before I let him drive away.
The drive to my house was silent, but comfortable. I actually found myself dozing off and when Stiles woke me up with a hand to my shoulder I felt massively disorientated. My cheek was cold from where I had been leaning against the window and I had to take a moment to blink myself awake.
'How do you wanna do this?' Stiles asked, running his fingernails over his head after he had turned off the engine.
'Can you help me get him upstairs? If I get him to my room I can look after him while he heals.' I unclipped my seatbelt and lowered Stiles seat before joining him on the driver's side.
'Are you sure? I mean it looks like it's going to be a while before it heals, how are you going to keep this from your mom?' Stiles questioned, but he still helped me get the older wolf from the back of his jeep regardless.
'I'll figure it out. She's working back to back over the next few days and if he takes longer than that to heal… I'll figure it out.' I huffed from the weight of the wolf; I may have supernatural strength but that didn't make him any lighter. He was basically pure muscle.
With a lot of sweat, patience and a few tears (from Stiles), we got Derek upstairs and onto my double bed. Stiles left after getting a text from his dad asking him why he wasn't home, seeing as there was a police enforced curfew. I closed and locked my bedroom door before standing at the foot of my bed and wondering how I was going to handle this. My bedroom lay out was similar to Scott's, basically exactly the same actually. My bed was adjacent to the door, my bathroom to the right and my desk to the left against the wall. My colour scheme was blue and grey; the walls and duvet were a royal blue and the room was decorated with pops of grey through the extra pillows on my bed, the curtains and the soft fluffy rug at the foot of my bed.
With a sigh, I shrugged off my mom's coat and hung it on the back of the door, my Uggs being kicked off next to my desk. After I had my hair secured with a hair-tie I made my over to Derek, reaching for the first aid kit I had started keeping in my room after my first week volunteering at the hospital. You'd be surprised at how many people came in to the emergency room with injuries that could be treated with a common first aid kit. Of course, this wasn't one of those times, but I would have to make due. I pushed his jacket from his shoulders and cut his shirt down the middle, starting at the bottom and working my way to the top, mindful of the parts that were imbedded in his flesh. Once his grey t-shirt was out of the way I forced myself to go into professional mode, cleaning the wound out with saline and stitching together the skin, assuming that would help the healing process along. The gashes were long and thick, so it took me almost an hour, but eventually I was covering up his wound with a giant bandage and a tired sigh.
I readjusted his head so that it was properly resting on my pillow, and thanked the gods that I hadn't had enough time to make my bed this morning; it allowed me to pull the covers over Derek's resting form without having to try and move him from on top of them first. I gently pushed his eyes closed, because his unseeing stare was really starting to freak me out. I went to my bathroom to brush my teeth and to think over what I was going to do next. I couldn't sleep in Scott's room on the off chance my mom checked on me before she went to bed in the morning; I couldn't lock the door from the outside so I wouldn't be able to keep her out. But sharing the bed with Derek just seemed too intimate. I eyed the egg shaped white indoor hammock that hung from the left side of my bed; it wouldn't be the comfiest but it would have to work. With a sigh I grabbed the fluffy grey blanket from the foot of the bed and curled up in the chair, exhaustion claiming me quickly, thankfully.
I jerked awake, unfortunately not to the sound of my alarm or the sun shining through the windows, but due to a nightmare. It was of the Alpha, but instead of us getting away like we had last night, I was forced to watch Derek, Stiles and Scott be mauled and mutilated in front of me. I glanced over to the clock on the nightstand, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. It was five thirty in the morning and I knew I wasn't going to get anymore sleep, so after grabbing my running shorts and sports bra, I went to the bathroom to change.
When I emerged I went over to Derek, gently pulling back the covers to reveal his perfectly sculpted chest and peeling back the bandage. I noticed that the wound was healing, though very slowly it seemed. I cleaned it with more saline and placed a fresh bandage over it, before tucking him back in. I closed my curtains, not wanting the rising sun to disturb him, before grabbing my phone and headphones, quietly closing the door behind me.
'Hey sweetie, I thought you'd still be sleeping.' Mom's soft voice startled me as I made my way down the stairs.
'Oh yeah, I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd go for a run before school.' I told her, walking over to give her a hug, 'I made some lasagne last night; it's in the oven. I did the laundry too, so you just get some sleep.'
'You're the most amazing daughter in the world.' Mom gushed, making me laugh.
'And you're delirious. Get some sleep.' I kissed her cheek and left for my run with an 'I love you.'
I welcomed the burning in my thighs as I reached the usual trial I ran into the woods. It was my favourite because it wasn't all-flat or too hilly, it was a perfect mixture of both and gave me a good cardio work out. As I ran, I let the events of the past twenty-four hours washed over me, running faster and harder as the fear; worry and anger reappeared as I relived the memories. The Alpha was really starting to irritate me; he was interfering with our lives and I was tired of fearing from my life every god damn day. But I didn't see a way we could stop it; we didn't even know who the Alpha was and if I wanted my life to be normal ever again, we were going to have to stop him. Of course we already knew that; he was murdering people, with no apparent reason, so lives depended on us stopping him. The craving for normalcy just added to my determination. It was just after six thirty when I returned to the house, and I wasted no time before I jumped into the shower, wanting to wash the sweat off me.
I was softly singing under my breath when I stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around me. I was just about to step into my room when I remembered the unconscious wolf on my bed- I hadn't thought ahead and didn't have a change of clothes with me. Cursing under my breath, I opened the door, a cloud of steam accompanying my exit. Determined to find a change of clothes as soon as possible I went straight to my giant chest of draws, which just happened to be on the same side of the bed as the unconscious Derek. But he was unconscious- that was the main thing. I quickly grabbed some clean panties, a bra, some socks, black denim shorts and a pale pink vest top before rushing into the bathroom to change.
When I was fully clothed, I tossed my used towel into the hamper and brushed my damp hair into a messy bun on the top of my head. I was just about to grab my backpack and head down stairs to make some breakfast when I heard a groan of pain coming from my bed.
'Stacey?' Derek groaned out in confusion, I went to his side instantly.
'Hey, how are you feeling?' I asked him, my voice soft.
'Like I was tossed twenty feet by an alpha,' he muttered sarcastically, 'what happened?'
I told him everything that had happened after he had been attacked at the school. If I wasn't mistaken he was a little impressed that we had managed to survive the attack so well. I informed him about what I had done when we had got to my house, ignoring the appreciation in his gaze; it wasn't anything anyone else wouldn't have done.
'I should go.' He said suddenly, moving to get out of the bed, but I held him down without much effort with a hand on his shoulder.
'You can stay. My mom should be sleeping all day and when she gets up she'll head straight to work. You need the rest and exerting yourself to get out of here isn't going to help with the healing.' I gave him a look that made the fight leave him and I was relived.
'Are you hungry?' I murmured, resisting the urge to reach out and hold his hand.
'A little.' He admitted, a little reluctantly. I could tell he didn't like the idea of someone waiting on him hand and foot, he didn't like being vulnerable. I vowed then and there to never use any of his weaknesses against him.
'Okay, I'm going to make some breakfast. If you need the bathroom, it's just through there.' I indicated to the bathroom before heading downstairs and getting to work on making breakfast. I decided on pancakes, because it was easy and I had enough whipped up to feed me, Scott and Derek in fifteen minutes. I also wrapped a few up in foil for mom to have before she left for work later on. I carried the plate and a glass of orange juice up to my room and handed them to the injured wolf, giving him a small smile before leaving him to eat his food in peace. Seeing as I hadn't heard a peep from my brother, I decided to go and see if he was awake.
'Scott.' I murmured, not wanting to be too loud encase I woke mom, when I got no answer I just pushed the door open anyway. I rolled my eyes when I realised he was still snoring; I pushed his curtains open and crouched down beside his bed, bringing my lips to his ear and shouting his name. I smothered a laugh when he jerked up, though it was hard when he glared at me in annoyance.
'If you want pancakes, you need to get up or I'll eat them all myself.' I gave him an evil grin before I left, knowing the promise of his favourite breakfast would be enough to get him moving. I finished my own breakfast just as my twin came down to get his.
'Eat up, Scotty, a growing werewolf like you needs their strength,' I winked, laughing when he lightly shoved me on his way to get juice out of the fridge.
'How are you this chipper this early in the morning?' He groaned, sitting at the table and digging into his pancakes. I chuckled in amusement when I noticed his mood pick up as he ate, boys were too easy sometimes.
'I went for a run, endorphins and all that.' I answered, my tone dry with humour.
'I thought I heard you.' Scott mumbled, making my nose wrinkle in disgust as I could plainly see his chewed up pancakes.
'I'm gonna go and grab my bag before Stiles gets here.' I said standing from my seat and moving to do just that before a soft voice stopped me as I placed a foot on the first step.
'Is he okay?' Scott wondered, his voice laced with worry.
'He's healing.' I assured him with a smile before heading up the stairs. I smiled when I saw his empty plate and glass on my bedside table. He was sat up, reading through the book I had left on the nightstand. It was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and I was a little amused to see that he was quite enraptured with the book.
'Hey,' I murmured, slinging my bag over my shoulder so I had free hands to carry down the now empty plate and glass.
'There's a full moon tonight.' Derek stated just as I was about to leave again.
'I know.' I forced a smile, trying to hide my concern.
'Do you have a plan?' Derek cocked his brow.
'Stiles has a plan.' I shrugged, pursing my lips as I considered that, 'whether that's comforting or not I'm not sure.'
Derek gave a reluctant chuckle that made my lips twitch.
'Scott has Allison, so he should be okay for the day and I'm assuming Stiles is planning on tying us up later.' I said, he gave me a look that had me blushing when I realised how what I said sounded.
'I can help you, if you want.' Derek offered, surprising me a little.
'You don't have to, I know you're healing.' I said, I sounded unsure and I hated it, but I didn't want him to feel obligated to help me just because I had helped him a little.
'I'll be fine by the time the moon rises, if not before then.' Derek waved me off and I tried not to stare at his naked chest. Even with the giant bandage on his side, he was beautiful.
'If you're sure…' I trailed off continuing when he nodded, 'then I'll see you here later.'
'I'll be here.' He assured me, I left him with a smile, softly closing my door behind me.
The first half of the day passed by slowly, which I was actually grateful for; with everything that had been happening just lately it was nice and… normal. Scott and I only had the full moon to worry about that day, but Scott was preoccupied with Allison so he seemed to be doing fine. The same could not be said for me; I felt like I was personally responsible for everyone's emotions. I could feel everything. It was like when I'd first changed and I didn't know how to control my supernatural hearing- everything had been too loud, too unbearable. I was able to handle it for most of the day, but by the last class it was getting to the point that I felt like I was going to explode; I was feeling jealousy, anger, exhaustion, frustration, happiness and lust- all at once. It had to have something to do with the moon but I didn't know how to tune it all out.
'Stacey?' Stiles asked, his concern hitting me like a punch to the gut from where he was seated behind me.
'Stiles…' I breathed out, grabbing my bag from where it rested at my feet, 'I need to get out of here.' With those words, I bolted from my seat ignoring the calls of my English teacher and bolting for the showers, my only thought that I needed to be alone and I needed to cool down. I was burning up.
I barged into the boys locker room after determining it was empty; I was too desperate to bother going to the girls. I dumped my backpack just outside of the wash area and switched on the showers, stepping under the cold spray, clothes and all. I willed the ice water to cool my skin and slow down my heartbeat, but it wasn't doing as good of a job as I'd hoped. I didn't know how long I had been standing there for when I heard an unsure voice from behind me.
'Stace?' It was Stiles, and I winced from the concern I could feel coming from him.
I turned around slowly, not turning off the water and resting my back against the tiled wall. I noted his relief when he saw that I hadn't transformed.
'Stiles.' I gasped out, trying not to sob at how helpless I felt.
'Are you okay? Are you changing?' he asked, stepping forward and switching off the water, he reached forward to squeeze my arm, his eyes widening when he touched my skin, 'Stacey you're freezing.'
He shrugged off his hoodie and draped it over my shoulders.
'It's too much,' I told him, hating the tears that were falling down my cheeks.
'What is?' he asked, his arm around my shoulders, his hand rubbing up and down my arm to generate some friction.
'Everyone's feelings… I could feel everything. It was too much I felt like I was suffocating.' I mumbled against his chest, focusing on his heartbeat to stop myself from freaking out again.
'It's probably just the full moon.' He assured me, resting his chin on top of my head, 'everything will go back to normal tomorrow.'
I sniffled against his chest and hugged him tighter, so grateful for my friendship with him in that moment. We were stood there until the bell went to signal the end of the last class of the day, snapping us out of our embrace. I went to take off Stiles' hoodie but he held his hand up, stopping my actions.
'You need it more than I do Stace- you're soaked through.' He murmured reaching down to pick up our bags from the floor.
I realised he was right; of course- my white vest top was soaked through, placing my white t-shirt bra on display. With an embarrassed flush, I zipped up Stiles' hoodie; it came to a rest half way down my thigh making it look like I wasn't wearing anything underneath but I didn't care.
'Let's get you home, we need to get ready for the moon.' Stiles murmured, resting his arm over my shoulders once again in a comforting gesture.
We had just reached the jeep when my twin joined us, looking confused when he saw my wet hair and then concerned when he saw that I had been crying. Thankfully, he didn't ask me what was wrong and just climbed into the passenger seat of the truck while I went to the back. The drive home was filled with awkward silence as I saw Scott giving me worried glances and giving Stiles questioning glances. I knew the latter wouldn't say anything to my concerned twin while I was still within hearing distance and for that I was grateful. When we got home I opened the trunk and climbed out that way, too anxious to wait for Scott to get out. I ran inside the house without waiting to see the boys' progression, bolting straight to my room. I was about to face plant onto my double bed when I saw the blue-eyed wolf I had left here this morning, his gaze painted with concern.
'Hey.' I murmured weakly, going over to my closet to get some dry clothes and hoping that he wouldn't ask me what was wrong. I pulled out an oversized hoodie that used to belong to Scott and a pair of jeans, without a word I went to my bathroom to change. Once I was done I took my hair from the bun it had been secured in for the day, letting it loose over my shoulders.
As far as I was concerned the whole day could just go and suck balls. I was exhausted and felt completely drained physically and emotionally. I could hear Scott, Derek and Stiles talking just outside the door and I sighed, wishing they would stop worrying about me.
'What happened?' Derek murmured, I could tell he had lowered his voice in an attempt to not be overheard.
'She ran out of our last class and I found her standing under freezing cold water in the boys locker room. When I asked her what was wrong she said she could feel what everyone else was feeling and it was too much.' Stiles replied, his voice betraying his concern.
'The moon's affecting her worse than it did last time.' Derek realised.
'What does that mean?' Scott asked.
'It means she'll be more out of control and more bloodthirsty when the moon rises.' Derek answered, I could hear something that sounded like ruffling clothing and walked out of the room to see Derek putting on one of Scott's shirts.
'So I'm going to want to go on a massacre tonight?' I questioned, trying to sound casual but from the sympathy in the three pairs of eyes on me I supposed I failed.
'I'll make sure you don't.' Derek promised, his voice full of confidence that offered me the assurance I needed.
'Let's just get this over with.' I mumbled, pulling the long sleeves of Scott's hoodie over my hands.
'Is that my hoodie?' Scott asked, sounding affronted and actually managing to make me laugh.
'It was but you gave it to me, remember?' I told him, trying and failing to sound innocent.
'So how are we going to do this?' Scott wondered, eying Stiles and Derek after he lightly ruffled my still damp hair.
Stiles pulled out some chains from a gym bag I hadn't noticed he had been carrying in answer. Scott and I shared a look of dread before our shoulders slumped in simultaneous defeat.
'Fine. Lets get on with it.' Scott answered for the both of us.
'We'll have to split you up. You'll be stronger together and we need to avoid that.' Derek said taking some of the supplies from Stiles' bag and placing them on the end of my bed before standing and sizing up Scott and I.
'Stiles, you take Scott seeing as Stacey is likely to be more out of control tonight I'll need to watch over her.' Derek said and Stiles obeyed slapping Scott's shoulder and heading to his room.
'See ya tomorrow Scotty.' I whispered, giving him a tight hug.
'You'll be fine, Stace.' He kissed my forehead and left, closing the door gently behind him.
'I gotta say, I'm not a fan of being the one who's "out of control."' I told the wolf watching me as I ran a hand through my hair and took a seat in my hanging chair.
'There's nothing wrong with losing control in the beginning. You're learning and that's nothing to be ashamed of.' Derek assured me, I frowned at him when I noticed him pacing around the room as if he were looking for something.
'I need something secure that I can attach you to. Something that won't easily break.' Derek said, noting my confusion, I simply nodded in understanding.
Derek said I could get along with something to distract me, and promised he would let me know as soon as it was time to… well tie me up. I wondered if I would ever be able to think about that without flushing.
I managed to finish my reading ahead in history, which made me ahead for all of my topics for the entire semester. Once I was done I packed away my things, knowing I had already done all of my homework that was due in over the next week, and waited. I carried on reading the third Harry Potter book, pleased that Derek hadn't lost my place when he read it earlier.
'It's time, Stacey.' Derek murmured softly and I was glad; I had been just about to ask him to tie me up anyway; my skin was stretching again like it had on the night of the first full moon, except this time it felt like I had a thousand needles embedded into my skin.
'Please hurry.' I whispered, resisting the urge to scream from the pain.
Derek gently took my hand and led me to the centre of the room. He hadn't found anything to tie me to, so he was settling for wrapping the chains around me, pinning my arms down so that I couldn't swipe out. I was briefly worried I would end up feeling claustrophobic, but honestly I hardly paid the chains any mind because the pain was getting worse.
'Breathe through it, Stacey.' Derek's tone was authoritative and commended me to listen to him.
I did as he said, focusing on his heartbeat as I did. Amazingly, the pain eased and I relaxed against the floor, my face buried in my grey fluffy rug.
'That's it.' Derek murmured comfortingly.
The night passed slowly; I was surprised that the neighbours didn't call the cops with how much Scott and I were screaming well into the early hours of the morning. I just lay still, not wanting to chance my super strength if I made any hasty movements. Basically I just lay still, screamed when the pain was unbearable and begged for it to stop. Derek seemed sympathetic and offered me occasional words of encouragement, and though he didn't know it he offered me hope. Hope that someday I could be like him, completely unaffected and unharmed by the full moon. It made the night pass a little easier.
I was so exhausted when the pain finally faded that I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness, right there, chained on my bedroom floor. I felt the metal give way before I was lifted and tucked up in my bed, but I was on the verge of sleep so I didn't offer anything other than a small groan, at least until the comforting scent that had been surrounded me started to fade as he pulled away, and I reached out with a strength I didn't know I had and asked him to stay. I felt him hesitate, and if I had been fully conscious and hadn't just endured endless amounts of agony I would have taken back my request out of sheer embarrassment. But I didn't need to worry, a moment later Derek slipped into the other side of the bed, and I slung my arm across his abdomen, snuggling into his side and inhaling his scent. I would regret my actions in the morning, but in that moment I needed the warmth, the comfort of his scent and I was incredibly grateful to him for being there for me.
Hey guys! I decided to combine two chapters here because I changed the plot with regards to how they got away from the alpha at the school. I quite like how it worked out; it helped Derek and Stacey get closer and also prevented Derek from being declared a fugitive. I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Leave me a review and let me know what you think :)