"Mmhm."
Derek stirred and woke completely out of his sleep to Maia kissing his shoulders lightly, casting a heavily-lidded glance back at her.
She was wrapped around him, her leg thrown over his hip from behind and a strong arm encircling his chest. "Good morning, my little spoon," she smiled warmly, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck.
"You seem to be in a good mood," Derek replied with a yawn, closing his eyes once more.
"You're home; I'm happy."
He let out a heavy breath and buried his face in his pillow, grumbling at her, "You know, I'm still mad at you big spoon. The least you could do is make breakfast before we argue." Knowing he was chiding her –Derek was alright, for now at least –Maia growled and bit his arm gently, the bigger male yelping.
Maia laughed and climbed out of bed, shaking her head as he turned to jump on her. "Come on – get out of bed and get dressed, you lazy best of a man. We always have Sunday morning dinner at Kali's, followed by a little training. The kids are raring to go," she said knowingly, her eyes shifting to the door as she heard a loud thud followed by Erica's laughter.
As she got dressed, Derek went down the hall to see his pack, standing in Isaac's doorway.
"Hey dad," Erica said lightly as all of them looked him over, the female sitting on top of Boyd as he did push-ups. He smirked and acknowledged them all in turn, his eyes finally falling on the oldest of their brood. Isaac eyed him warily and folded his arms across his chest, not once to mince words, "Where'd you go?"
Derek shrugged, not really wanting to talk about his months in the wilderness. "Here and there – nowhere, honestly. I just needed time to clear my head… things got complicated," the Alpha male replied quietly, reaching up to run a hand back through his hair. Isaac was defensive then, standing up and moving to stand in front of Derek. "Things got complicated for us all and when we needed you most, you weren't there. The others kept trying to cull us or whatever because we didn't have an Alpha to follow! And Maia-"
"Isaac," Erica spoke sharply, Boyd standing to tower over her. "Be quiet."
Red eyes searched their faces, knowing that something was being kept from him and nodding. "I won't force you to tell me anything because I know Maia wouldn't like that very much, but if there is something going on that is going to endanger your lives or mine, I would really hope you'd tell me," Derek said, his voice soft but firm.
"Maia will tell you when she's ready," Boyd said simply without revealing anything to his Alpha, taking Erica's hand and leading her out of the room.
"You hurt her, you know," Isaac said as he moved to follow after his pack mates, pausing to talk down in Derek's ear. "She cried for days, wouldn't eat and wouldn't sleep – you forced her to start planning your death, big dog. Your wife is a lot more fragile than you're willing to see, but she's also a lot stronger than you give her credit for: don't push her. She'll push back"
Isaac turned his back on Derek, exposing two long, jagged scars on the back of his neck that disappeared below his collar. The Alpha knew that the only scars a wolf would show were those inflicted by another Alpha, one who meant to mark its victim and send a message to others.
And the only wolf who could do that to a protected fledging- could harm Isaac- was Maia herself...
Maia looked over at Derek as she drove the new family truck, seeing his tense posture in the passenger seat. He took in his surroundings, the town just a few miles over from Beacon Hills much smaller and homey –well, it would have appeared so to them, had he not know what was lurking in their limits.
"I'm warning you now that you're going to have to be firm with Deucalion –he is very stubborn and you're new to the pack… He's going to keeping giving you a hard time," she murmured with concern, running a hand back through her curls.
"And if he challenges me?"
She gave him a stern look before pulling up to a large, old Colonial-style home, parking and taking off her seatbelt. Maia sighed and looked at Derek again, "Listen: like I said last night, I cannot have you at odds with them babe. They are my family – they were there when you weren't – and so you have to at least try to be civil. Can you do that?"
Derek opened the door without answering, the kids following suit and starting up the stairs loudly, entering the house unannounced to a roar of laughter and welcome. He instead waited for his wife, noticing that she moved more slowly than what he knew she was capable of, taking her hand and moving towards the porch. He was willing to relieve the hollow tension that had formed in his absence between the two of them and the pack as well, Maia pushing open the front door.
Small groups of people were placed throughout the bottom floor of the house, most smiling and speaking to Maia before giving Derek a nod of acknowledgement – they might not have liked him or been comfortable with him yet and especially after his departure from the pack, but they knew respect and as the mate of their Alphamega: he had earned it.
His wife gave him a quick squeeze of reassurance before dropping his hand, taking off her jacket and throwing it to a young pack member when he offered to hang it up.
In all truth, they seemed like normal werewolves, both young and old –there were at least five children under the age of ten and a few wolves pushing fifty – Maia's pack appearing well-cared for, content and happy. The atmosphere reminded Derek of how his childhood home had been, the Alpha male moving through the women in the kitchen to the back porch.
There was a snarl and a massive pile of black and grey fur burst out from the forest, coming to a pseudo-stop at the foot of the back stairs even as the two wolves continued to fight each other.
Maia looked out the back window at where Derek was watching Ennis and Deucalion spar, letting out a sigh. Kali glanced at the Alphamega, looking as much like Maia as one could- they had been mistaken for sisters quite often and it was mostly because of the shared warmth in their eyes.
"So he's back," Kali murmured pointedly, seeing her closest friend nod wordlessly. "Kinda sucks – we'll miss having you at the bottom of the dog piles, but I'm happy for you."
"He's an asshole," Maia replied humorlessly, shaking her head and sighing again. "But he's mine."
The women began making massive quantities of food for their Sunday morning brunch, having to chase away the others from the stove repeatedly. Everyone knew the hierarchy of the pack when it came to mealtimes together – the Alphas always first, then the Betas, then the older ones, the younger members and finally Maia herself. She always wanted to make sure everyone had enough to eat before taking care of herself, something that humbled the other wolves every time they joined her for a meal.
Derek looked up as a car door slammed shut from the side of the house, hearing McCall shout for his pack mates. The young wolf eventually found his way to where his Alpha was, the older male surprised to see Jackson with him. "Derek. Nice to have you home," Scott said quietly, clapping the Alpha's shoulder before taking a seat beside him. Jackson only jerked his chin at Derek before turning his attention to his phone, obviously uncomfortable with being around them.
"How have you been holding up Scott," Derek questioned quietly, the young wolf shrugging.
"Everything's changed… but it doesn't feel like it, like this is the way its been all along."
A few minutes later they called for people to start getting ready for brunch, women moving to lay blankets out on the lawn as the two werewolves finally ended their bout and shifted back, Deucalion panting with a self-satisfied smile. He moved to grab a pair of jeans that had lain discarded on the porch, looking at Derek and smirking. "How'd you enjoy the show," he asked lightly, the younger Alpha forcing himself to stay semi-polite. "You fight dirty – had it not been for you throwing dirt in Ennis' eyes, he would have had you twenty minutes ago," Derek spoke with all the calm he could muster – he wanted to rip out his throat and be done with the aggravation Deucalion loved to cause. "Well, not all of us can be such upstanding citizens Derek- you have to fight to survive in this world. And Maia won't always be around to protect you…"
Derek stood and suddenly, another Alpha was standing between him, looking much younger than what his eyes gave away. "I would hope the two of you weren't planning to fight just yet – our women have been very generous in making us a meal and I know none of them would take too kindly to having this day go awry before we have eaten. Wouldn't you agree, brother," he asked lightly, Derek looking over his shoulder at the first Alpha's identical twin. "I would – who knows what Mommy Dearest would have me do..." Deucalion bared his teeth at Derek before letting the gesture fall into a smile, taking a step back, "Of course we still have manners Ethan; we're going to… spar after breakfast, right Derek?"
The male stared the other down until he walked away, the one named Ethan shaking his head and sighing. "Come inside and wash up Derek – we get to eat first," he said, starting into the house before looking back at his brother again. "Aiden, see is Ennis is willing to eat at the table."
"Willing," Derek questioned curiously, Ethan smirking at his ignorance.
"Ennis very seldom agrees to act like a human- he would rather be a wolf. And before you ask, no, he isn't a danger to us or our secret. Maia has made sure he has been very well trained…"
When Derek sat down at the dining room table with the other Alphas he received a multitude of looks his way – a glare from Deucalion, a inquisitive glance from Kali, a half-smile from Ethan, a smirk from Aiden and a narrowing of the eyes from Ennis as he sat on his haunches in the corner. "So, what do you think of the pack, Derek," Kali asked as she sipped at a very full goblet of wine. Derek swallowed the mouth of eggs he had and nodded, looking out of the dining room window to the many wolves outside enjoying the morning, "I think it's a force to be reckoned with."
"You mean, we're a force to be reckoned with," Ethan corrected with a smile. "You're one of us now."
Derek didn't reply before pouring himself a glass of wine and downing it, looking at Deucalion over the rim.
Maia finally joined them with a plate full of food, falling into her chair between Kali and Derek with a sound of contentment. "How's the food boys," she questioned inquisitively, reaching out towards the drinks on the table. They all spoke of their enjoyment and Derek moved to pour her a glass of wine, Maia shaking her head vehemently. "No baby, I'll just have water." Derek was too busy replacing the wine bottle on the table and grabbing the pitcher of water for his wife to see Maia and Kali exchange a knowing glance, the two women smiling when he had finally turned back to look at them.
A quiet silence filled the room other than the sound of cutlery against the plates and Ennis ripping his steak to shreds, Derek feeling as if everyone was talking about him without saying any words. The Alphas' eyes flashed quickly between their respective plates and Derek, before meeting Maia's gaze.
"So nice weather we've been having, wouldn't you say Maia," Deucalion asked unobtrusively, his voice smooth and pleasant even with a deliberate hint of venom. "Some of the young ones have been expressing their interest in initiation – namely, your young Isaac. It seems he wants to solidify his dedication to the pack, and to you."
Derek was curious, looking at Maia and setting his fork down, "Initiation?"
"It's a… ritual we took up when we started recruiting for the pack, how we've started to prepare the pack for the next generation. We're always going to need Alphas, and with this, we basically have a gladiator fight to see who is worthy of such a title. Whoever wins, I give them… my blessing and then we have a celebration, bonfire and all that shit," Maia explained, seeming to edit her words for Derek's comfort. She then looked at Deucalion, her tone biting, "But after the last incident, I told you we were done with initiation for a while. Give everyone a fair chance to be trained properly."
The open, burning glare she gave him let Derek know that there was quite a bit of bad blood between them – at least when it came to this initiation business – Deucalion lifting his glass and shrugging. "Your people speak, my Queen," he replied rather rudely, receiving a growl of disapproval from Ennis. Maia quieted him before looking at Ethan and jerking her chin towards Deucalion's cup, "I believe he has had quite enough wine today."
"Let him drink," Derek said as everyone turned to the sound of his voice- it was obvious that no one other than Deucalion challenged Maia and the rebellious wolf smiled. "Yes, let me drink." Derek smirked and shook his head, "Only because we have a sparring match later. Enjoy yourself now."
The conniving older wolf's smile faltered and he pushed away his glass, eyeing Derek.
"Well, on that note, I think I'm cutting myself off."
"Ah, a sense of judgment from the sour wolf, finally," Kali said with a laugh, shaking her head and standing to clear the table. The other wolves smiled and agreed, Deucalion not amused, "Forgive me for taking the… trifle things lightly." Maia shook her head and continued to goad him, pulling her cardigan across her. "You do not take things lightly, brother. Everything seems to be life and death with you –you're always so serious…"
Deucalion stood and looked at Derek, smirking. "And forgive me again for knowing what is right and what is wrong when it comes to making decisions in this pack," he murmured pointedly, Ennis letting out a grisly snarl as he took to all fours. Ethan started to talk before Maia stood as well, looking at Deucalion without fear, "Do you want to take this conversation outside, brother?"
Everything was quiet as Deucalion searched Maia's eyes, looking for any hint of teasing before he nodded.
"Hell yeah."
There were loud wolf-whistles as the two wolves moved to go outside, Maia pulling off her cardigan and kicking off her tennis shoes. "Everybody back up," she shouted before turning on Deucalion as he stood on the porch, baring her dagger-like teeth. "We're about to have some fun."
Deucalion phased as he jumped off of the porch, leaping towards Maia with jaws snaing. She refused to let her wolf answer his challenge, running at her pack mate and arching over him as he moved to tackle her. Maia landed lithely on her feet as he turned on her again, digging his claws into the dirt and growling at her. She grinned and sailed into Deucalion, wrapping herself around his midsection and bringing him to the ground. There were cheers from the other wolves as she pulled him in a headlock, the wolf snarling as he struggled to free himself from her ironclad hold. And then Deucalion head-butted her, Maia flying back through the air before landing in the dirt. She got back up to her feet and glared at Deucalion, preparing to phase before Derek appeared at her side, a streak of silver fur along the left side of his body – he had been more stressed than she had thought he would be with the changes in their life, and the graying of his hair gave that away. He gave her a look that clearly said, "Let me," before turning on Deucalion and snarling.
Maia moved out of the way and got back up to the porch, seeing Kali's fierce red eyes.
"Don't start," Maia said through her teeth as she brushed dirt off of her clothes and looked at Derek and Deucalion as they tore into each other: Derek was undoubtedly less trained, but he was holding his own.
"You know, we have to do something about our less good mannered and well-behaved… brother; I told you from the start he was not going to let this whole Derek thing just go," Kali murmured as she tossed her hair over her shoulder, folding her arms over her chest and sighing. The shorter woman nodded and agreed, exhaling quietly, "Deucalion knows very well that he's not my first-in-command, but that doesn't keep him from acting like it. He's a spoiled, pompous ass-" Kali laughed humorlessly and shook her head, watching the two men continue to fight, teeth and claws clashing. "Only because you made him so… It was the attention, the sex, your smile that did it. You're a coveted prize Maia Hale and there aren't many people, myself included, who wouldn't fight to the death to have you. Deucalion did: he had you for seven months and he lost you-" Maia looked up at her, cocking her head and folding her arms over her chest. "I was never his to lose."
Kali sighed and looked at Deucalion as he and Derek finally broke apart, shaking her head, "You tell him that…"
Later that night Maia cared for Derek's wounds, sighing as he watched her work. "How did it feel, Derek," Maia asked quietly, hearing her husband chuckle. She looked up at him, her eyes lingering on his split lip for a moment, "It felt… good. I haven't quite put that son of a bitch in his place yet, but I proved a point today. He knows I won't back down from a fucking challenge."
"Well, you proving a fucking point cost you two ribs, a finger, a pretty nice gash on your thigh, a black eye and this," she replied lovingly, moving to kiss his battered mouth. Derek smiled and threaded his fingers through her curls, feeling Maia raise up to straddle his lap. "Well, if you're going to help me lick my wounds like this, I just might have to start getting into fights more often…"
Derek pulled her underneath him and sighed contentedly, stroking her hair back, "You know, you're a great wife Maia – a great partner. I know I give you a hard time and that I can be a stubborn asshole more often than not, but… I just want you to know that things are changing, finally, for the better. I felt that today, seeing the pack and knowing what we were capable of. Everyone is safe, secure and happy, and that's all I've ever wanted for us babe… Thank you for this. We needed this."
"We didn't need this," Maia corrected, stroking his face and smiling. "We needed each other."
"We have each other."
She smiled brilliantly before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss, "And I need you now…"