Chapter 02: Memories/Warrior
Nine years earlier – 2002
Derek, Laura and Emilia were running through the preserve, Talia had long accepted the oldest Stilinski child into the pack after seeing her become fast friends with her oldest children. Emilia was trusted with their secret after Derek accidentally shifted in front of her. It hadn't scared her in fact she'd ushered him into an empty class room before running off to get Laura two years earlier.
"Derek, stop! We can't go that way!" Laura called, as she grabbed hold of Emilia's arm to stop her from running any further.
"Laura go after him, I'll stay here. I promise," Emilia smiled at her, pushing the older teen after Derek urging her to run after him.
Laura nodded and took off running after Derek, after a couple of minutes of Emilia standing alone in the middle of the preserve she heard something behind her. Jumping she saw Peter, their uncle making his way towards her questioning what the teenager was doing by herself. Emilia smiled when she saw the older man, once she realised who it was.
"Emilia, why are you out here alone?" Peter questioned, he wasn't much older than her, Laura and Derek. Emilia had not long turned fourteen, while Derek was about to fourteen and Laura was seventeen.
"I wasn't alone until three minutes ago. Laura's gone to find Derek..." Emilia pointed in the direction her two friends had run causing Peter to shake his head.
"Go, run back to the house now and don't stop," Peter told her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her so she was facing in the direction of the house. "Go now!"
"What? Why?" Emilia asked, Peter looked at her and sighed before he spoke.
"Just go, I'll get Derek and Laura," Peter said before he pushed her forcing her to run before she stumbled and fell over her own feet.
Emilia looked back at Peter as she ran as fast as she could back to the Hale House. On her way she tripped over a log that hadn't been there earlier. As she stood up and started running again she heard growling coming from somewhere, somewhere that she couldn't make out. Emilia didn't recognise the sound so she kept running until she found herself being pummelled into a tree. Emilia screamed as loud as she could, alerting Derek, Laura and Peter to the fact that she was in trouble. Laura, Derek and Peter all raced to where Emilia was being held up against a tree. Peter pulled the other werewolf off her and told his niece and nephew to get her out of there.
"Run! Take Emilia and run!" Peter growled, the two teenagers nodded and helped Emilia up on to her feet again.
"I didn't stop..." Emilia mumbled, Peter nodded he knew that she hadn't stopped running.
"We have to get you back to the house, to tell mom what happened," Laura said as they helped her to run back to the house.
"What's Peter going to do?" Derek questioned as they both felt Emilia going limp between them as they reached the house.
"Mom! Em's hurt bad!" Laura yelled, as they stopped at the bottom of the steps and their parents came running down the stairs.
"Michael, take her inside. Derek go with your father. Laura with me," Talia spoke calmly to her children as her husband took Emilia from Derek and Laura.
Laura took Talia back to where they had left Peter and unknown werewolf. Peter had his foot against what he had determined was a rogue. Talia flashed her eyes at her younger brother before letting out a growl.
"You attacked a teenage girl, unprovoked on Hale land," Talia spoke calmly and diplomatically as she motioned for Peter to pick up the wolf. "Laura, go back to the house," Laura stood frozen to the spot before her mother used her alpha voice on her. "Now,"
Laura took off towards the house again, only stopping when she nearly couldn't see her mother, Uncle and the intruder. Laura stopped for a second to watch before she continued on her way back to the house. At the house Derek was playing in the front yard with 7 year old Cora.
"What happened to Emmy?" Cora asked stopping from running around causing Derek to run straight into her.
"She got hurt badly, Mom will take care of it," Derek told her as he crouched down in front of her looking up as Laura walked into view. "What's mom doing?" Derek asked as Cora jumped onto his back and rested his head against her shoulder.
"With Peter. She had me come back, how's Em?" Laura answered, as she headed up the front steps past her brother and sister.
"Dad won't let us in, he wants to wait for mom," Derek answered, trying to put Cora down only to have his little sister hold on tighter. "But I can hear. She's in pain,"
"I'm going in, I don't like Em in pain," Laura said before she pushed open the front door and walked into the living room where their father had placed Emilia on the sofa.
Laura walked cautiously towards the sofa once their father looked up at her and saw that it was only her. Michael motioned for Laura to what she could while he had cleaned the teenage girl up. Laura gingerly went to the sofa, and got on her knees and took Emilia's hand in hers. Slowly the pain leached from her friend and went up her arm.
"Em," Laura was quiet as she looked up hearing her mother walking into the house. "Mom, what do we do?"
"Make her comfortable, I'll call her parents and let them know she's staying the night," Talia said as she headed to the phone by the wall and picked it up dialling the Stilinski's. "Claudia, it's Talia. Laura and Derek have invited Em to stay the night. We'll bring her home sometime tomorrow," with that Talia hung up the phone causing Laura to look at her strangely. "Answering machine,"
"Mom? What's going to happen to her?" Derek questioned, standing in the door way with Cora close behind him.
"Peter take Cora to her room please," Talia requested looking to her younger brother and then her daughter. "Cora, go with Uncle Peter,"
"But mom," Cora whined, Talia sighed and pushed the younger girl out of the room and shut the door behind her.
Talia turned back to face her husband and two oldest children. Laura was still crouched beside Emilia and Derek was standing behind their father keeping out of the way. Derek looked around his father and to Emilia and then up at his mother, he was clearly worried about her and she could see it. Talia nodded to Derek that it was alright to step closer to her, but not before she wrapped him in her arms.
"Derek, she will be okay. I don't want you and Laura worrying about her," Talia said as she pulled back and put her hands on either side of her teenage sons face. "Go sit with her," Talia kissed the top of Derek's head and gave him a gentle push.
"Mom! She's getting worse," Laura exclaimed holding onto Emilia's hand tightly and letting the pain bleed into her.
"Laura, Derek go into the other room now. Michael take them with you please," Talia said causing Derek to stop in his tracks and Laura to stand up both looking at their mother.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Laura questioned, as their father stood and started to turn them from the room. "No dad. I want to know what mom's going to do,"
"Not now Laura," Michael said taking hold of her shoulder only for her to grab his hand and thrust is it off. "Laura,"
"It's okay, take Derek. Laura can stay," Talia sighed resigned to the fact that she would need to show her teenage daughter sooner or later.
Derek looked at his sister and then mother before he followed his father from the room, he knew that he wasn't going to be allowed to listen to whatever happened in the room. Laura watched as Derek and her father left before her attention was on her mother. Talia had replaced Laura and was now sitting on the floor beside Emilia.
"Emilia sweetheart, I want you to listen to me. If I don't give you the bite you will die," Talia spoke quietly to her while taking hold of her hand.
"Mom?" Laura's voice was quiet as she stayed glued to the floor looking at her mother and at Emilia.
"Emilia, it's up to you," Talia looked to Emilia who's eyes were darting between Laura and Talia. "Laura, that was a rogue omega that attacked her,"
"Mom! You can't ask her to do that," Laura huffed, she didn't want the teenage girl to have to hide what she was from her family if she didn't die.
"Laura," Talia warned her eyes flashing red as she spoke to her daughter, Laura's eyes flashing gold in response. "This is Emilia's decision, and she is lucid enough to make that decision on her own,"
Emilia nodded to Talia, she was ready but she wasn't ready at the same time, she just didn't want to die. It wasn't her time. Talia took Emilia's hand and extended her teeth until they were sharp, it wasn't something that she practised but it had been done before. Talia leaned forward and put her mouth to Emilia's arm and bit down, Emilia bit her lip as her eyes fell on Laura. Laura smiled weakly at her friend before she turned around, she couldn't handle it as her mother released Emilia's arm.
"Laura, get the first aid kit," Talia moved from the floor so that she was sitting with Emilia's head in her lap. "And send your brother to bed," Laura nodded before she made a move to leave the room.
"Em, you'll be okay..." Laura's voice was quiet as she watched her mother stroking the hair from Emilia's face as the girl closed her eyes.
Laura opened the door to the living room and was faced with Derek and Peter, her father had gone up stairs to Cora and sent Peter back down. "Der, mom said to go to bed...but I don't think it will hurt if you see Em," Laura said looking between Derek and Peter, Peter raised his eyebrow at his niece.
"Derek, don't go in there," Peter warned grabbing his nephew by the shoulder before he had the chance to move. "Go up to bed, I'd do as your mother said,"
Laura glared at Peter before offering an apologetic smile to Derek and pushing past the two of them and racing to the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. Talia, Peter, Laura, Cora and Derek may have been wolves but they had family that were human. Laura rooted around in the bathroom before she managed to produce the first aid kit, when she turned around Derek was standing in the doorway.
"Lore, what's going on? What did mom do?" Laura shook her head at Derek's question, giving him the answer that he hadn't wanted. "No..."
"Go to bed Der," Laura hoped that Derek wouldn't hate their mother for what she had done. "Mom'll stay up with her all night. You know she will," Derek nodded and pushed past Laura heading straight for his bedroom and slamming the door shut.
"Laura, sweetheart hurry up," Talia's voice called up the stairs prompting the teenager to race back down to her mother. Talia took the first aid kit from her daughter and the two of them set about cleaning and dressing the wounds. "Go and grab a pair of your pajama's for Emilia," Laura shook her head as Peter appeared in the door way.
"Talia," Peter extended his hand holding out one of his own old shirts for the teenager to wear. Talia looked at Peter and let out a sigh before taking the shirt.
Talia stayed up with Emilia that night, keeping an eye on the teenager and making sure that she was comfortable. She wasn't sure what she would have done had Emilia died during the night. Sometime during the night both Laura and Derek had crept from their bedrooms and into the lounge room, Laura curling up on the single sofa and Derek on the floor beside the sofa.
The next morning, Emilia sat with Derek and Laura in the living room the bite having taken and the wounds from the rouge omega clearing up and the one from Talia being gone. Talia supposed that it was because she was in the presence of the pack that they had worked.