CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Summary: Hermione Granger, one of the brightest minds of her generation, makes a decision that will ultimately change her future plans. At twenty-three, she finds herself moving to a strange town that's a hell-mouth for supernatural beings, pregnant, and in way over her head. And the father of her unborn child? The tall, dark and handsome werewolf, Derek Hale. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and the creators of Teen Wolf and MTV. This is purely for entertainment purposes and I am not making a profit from the posting of this. This is set after Season 3, and everything from season 4 onwards doesn't happen; so no deadpool, Beast, Dread Doctors, Wild Hunt or Hunters. Allison still died, Liam will still be appearing, and there is no Kira or Malia. Derek is 22 and Hermione is 23. I'm fudging the time line a bit, too.
Page count: 12
"I mean it, Hermione,"
"You're like a broken record, stop repeating yourself; it's getting on my nerves," she told him, a growl coming from her and she stormed forward, making her way to the edge of the cliffs which was a short distance from where Derek had parked the car.
After Teddy had been put to bed, had his story read to him and he'd fallen asleep, Hermione and Derek had left Andromeda to her own devices and left the cottage to meet up with Scott. As she stepped through the trees and onto the cliffs with Derek at her side as he'd easily caught up with her, Scott and Stiles both turned around, their eyes widening at seeing her there.
"Don't, she won't listen," Derek grumbled.
"But..." Scott tried, but was cut off.
"Shut it!" Hermione growled and his mouth snapped shut as Stiles looked a cross between amused and frightened.
"The babies," Derek shrugged.
Hermione scowled at him before she caught sight of a third person present who she assumed was Liam, and he was sat on the edge of the cliff with his feet hanging down and looking out at the view.
"What are you doing here?" Stiles asked her.
"I'm here to help, whatever you're doing doesn't seem to be working, so we're going to do this my way."
He made to reply but Hermione shushed him and made her way over to Liam, he looked up at her, his eyes widening slightly as they traced the features of her kind face and then they landed on her stomach, widening to the point she thought they'd fall out of his head. He looked over his shoulder at a scowling Derek and then back to her.
"Ignore him; he's in a mood because he didn't get his way. He should know by now he's never going to win an argument with me," she smiled down at him, before she struggled to get down on the ground until she was sat beside him.
"I'm Hermione," she said, holding her hand out.
"Liam," he replied, shaking her hand as she watched him.
He had brown hair with hints of copper, tanned skin and pale blue eyes with light lashes framing them. He had a small nose and a strong jaw line and he reached up to push some strands back from his face.
"You're Scott's friend, right?"
She nodded. "And that grumpy sod's girlfriend, too," she replied, gesturing to Derek behind her with her thumb.
"I heard that!" Derek called.
Hermione sniggered. "I said it out loud, you were meant to hear it. And I don't care if it is the full moon, if your mood doesn't improve you'll find yourself sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future," she said without looking at him. "So, Liam, how are you feeling?"
He turned to look at the view and shrugged his shoulders.
"It's beautiful, isn't it? Derek brought me here on our first date," she told him. "I've seen a lot of things in my life, but this is the only place I've ever felt at peace. Like I've got no troubles and the world just falls away. You should know, Liam, I'm not going to judge you, you don't have to lie to me or hide anything from me, so tell me, how are you feeling?"
He turned his head to look at her briefly, before returning his gaze to the view. "Overwhelmed. Anxious. Confused, take your pick."
"That's perfectly understandable, you've gone through a massive change in your life, I can empathise with that," she told him softly, and he looked at her to see her rubbing a hand over her stomach. When she caught him staring she chuckled at him. "Oh, this isn't the change I'm talking about, but I suppose it counts, too," she shook her head.
"Should you really be here?" He asked her.
"You're not going to hurt me, Liam."
"You don't know that."
"I do, I have faith in you. I'm a very good judge of character and despite just meeting you, I know you're strong, which is how I know you're going to get through this. And I'm going to help you."
"How?"
"Well, whatever Derek's doing may have worked for him when he was a child, but it's not working for you, so I'm here to try something different. I just need you to trust me, I know it's a lot to ask, but do you think you can do that?"
He looked over his shoulder and then back to her. "Scott trusts you, so I suppose I can put my trust in you, too."
"Brilliant," she beamed. "The moon's soon going to make an appearance so we better get ready. Do you think you can help me up, I'll be here forever if I try and do it by myself?"
Liam stood and held his hands out to her, pulling her to her feet and steadying her when she wobbled slightly.
"Thanks," she said, before walking over to the others and she frowned when she saw Stiles digging through a rather large duffle bag and she heard clinking coming from inside. "What's in there?" She asked. In reply Stiles pulled out a rather large, rather thick metal chain. "And what are those for?"
"Restraint," he shrugged.
Hermione frowned when Liam walked over to the large tree and stood against the trunk, and both Stiles and Scott took one end of the chain before they walked around the tree, crossing the chain over itself and wrapping it around Liam.
"I don't bloody well think so, what in the name of Merlin is wrong with you?" She said, her voice rising shrilling.
The two teens stopped in their walking and frowned at her. "It's to stop him from running off and hurting someone," Stiles said.
"He's not going to hurt anyone, take them off him, now! He's not a bloody animal or a monster, he's a human being and we will treat him like one."
"Hermione..." Scott began.
"No, take them off him now!" She growled.
They all flinched when her eyes flashed gold, something that even surprised Derek as he'd never seen it happen. The wolf traits the babies were influencing in her were getting stronger each day as the babies grew. He was glad she had just over four months left before the babies were due, as he hated to think what the traits would be like when she was that far along, she was frightening enough as it was, and now she had wolf traits, too.
The two teens looked to Derek and though he was reluctant, he nodded. They shared worried looks before the chains were unwrapped and dropped to the ground.
Hermione's glare dropped from her face and she walked over to Derek, digging her hand in her pocket and pulling out two vials which she handed to him.
"This is in case anything should go wrong. The red one will knock him out instantly. Usually it'll last eight hours but with his werewolf metabolism it's probably half that. The blue one should help to calm him. The only difficult part is wrestling it into his mouth. Only use them if you absolutely have to, otherwise allow us the room we need."
"I don't like this," he muttered.
"I know, but I don't like that Teddy now goes to school," she shrugged, turned and walked off into the woods.
"That's hardly the same!" He called after her.
"Where's she gone?" Stiles asked.
"No idea,"
"What are those?" He nodded to the vials in his hand.
Derek slipped the potions into his pocket. "None of your business," he replied. Stiles scowled at him.
When Hermione returned she was carrying two folded up deck chairs.
"Where'd those come from?" Scott asked confused.
"One of my many talents," she replied. "Not telling you anything," she added when Stiles stepped forward and his mouth opened, so she ended his barrage of questions before they could even start.
She walked over to Liam, unfolded a deck chair and gestured to it, while she did the same for the other one and sat herself down opposite him. It was clear he was confused but he did sit himself down and she smiled at him.
"Excellent, now we just wait. "Stiles, any good werewolf jokes?"
"Excuse me?" He said with a raised eyebrow.
"Come on, I know you must have some. As the only humans here, it's our duty to roast the hell out of these furry beasts."
Scott spluttered, Derek sighed and Liam looked as though he didn't know where to put his face.
"I'll give you one hundred dollars if you can tell me one I haven't heard or used before," she said.
"You're on," Stiles said. "Let's see, training pads?"
"Used it," Derek said.
"Mood swings?"
"Used it,"
"Moonshine?"
"That one, too,"
Stiles frowned. "Shaving?"
"Definitely heard that one,"
"Fangs?"
"Yep,"
"Claws?"
"That one, too," Derek said.
Stiles' frown deepened and Hermione sat back in her chair and crossed her legs at the ankles.
"You'll never find one, I've used them all. I make it a point to poke and prod at Derek's wolf side," she said. "And now I know Liam prefers chains as a method of restraint," she winked at the teen and his mouth fell open as Scott and Stiles stared at her, catching onto the meaning behind her words.
Derek just sighed. "Should you really be winding up a newly turned werewolf?"
"I'm not winding him up. Liam, am I winding you up?" She asked. He shook his head, an amused smile pulling at his mouth. "See, I'm not winding him up. Now, Liam and I are going to have a little chat, maybe you'd like to keep your oversized ears to yourself otherwise you'll find yourself in the dog house."
Derek groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, Liam snorted, Stiles blinked slowly and Scott just shook his head.
~000~000~000~
They'd only been talking ten minutes when Liam's hands flew up to the plastic arm rests of the chair and his breathing grew heavy.
"No, stay back," she said to Scott and Derek who had both made to move over to Liam. "Liam, I want you to look at me." He lifted his bowed head and his eyes were flashing between pale blue and gold. "Good, I want you to focus on me, nothing else. Listen to my voice, to my breathing. Do you think you can mimic it? Give it a try."
He took a breath and looked away from her. "It's not working," he said, his voice strained and his grip on the arm rests grew tighter.
"It will, try again. Listen to my heart beat; drown out the sounds of the others with only mine. Use it to focus you and slow your own breathing," she said. His grip on the arm rests loosened slightly. "Good, well done," she praised and he looked back up at her. "What's your name?"
"What?" He said, his voice still sounding strained but at least his breathing was no longer laboured and heavy.
"What's your name?"
"Liam Dunbar."
"I'm Hermione Granger. How old are you?"
"Sixteen," he answered.
"I'm twenty-three. What are your parents called, what do they do?"
He took a deep breath and gripped the arm rests tightly, before his grip loosened. "Jenna and Marcus. My mom's an event planner, my step-dad's a doctor."
"Jean and Richard, they were both dentists. They died when I was eighteen."
"My dad's an asshole,"
"My ex-boyfriend's an arsehole and his sister a bitch," she told him. "What's your best friend's name?"
"Mason," he answered.
"Mine was Harry, but he's an arsehole, too, so we're no longer friends. Let's see, what do you like doing?"
"Playing Lacrosse," he grunted out, his grip on the arm rests tightening until the plastic made a noise of protest.
"I love winding up Derek."
He let out a grunt-like snort and the plastic of the arm rests suddenly broke under his grip, pieces breaking off and falling to the ground. A growl sounded from him.
"It's okay, I didn't particularly like that chair either," she said softly. "Liam, look at me," she instructed and he did so, showing glowing gold eyes and she noticed claws beginning to form on his hands and fur beginning to grow on his face. "It seems you're almost through with the transformation. How do you feel?"
He let out a growl but she didn't flinch. She just nodded. "I feel like that too sometimes, like this morning, I could've murdered Derek when he called my cat a 'fat, ugly monster.' Or last night when he refused to get me a chocolate fudge cake, I actually smacked him with a pillow for that one, and when he called me a 'hormonal monster' I actually bit him. I mean, it's his fault, right? He's the one that knocked me up with his super sperm, and with bloody twins, too? So I have every right to be hormonal, it's his babies that are doing it to me, and the babies are the ones that made me bite him, too. Wouldn't you agree?"
He let out another growl and his facial structure began to change, and she looked over her shoulder at Derek, sending him a smug smile at Liam's agreement. The two teens and her boyfriend were watching Liam carefully, but it was clear to her they were surprised, too.
She turned to look at Liam and when she saw his fangs making an appearance she pushed herself up from her chair, sent a glare to Derek when she heard him move closer and she moved over to Liam.
Just as the transformation finished, Liam threw his head back and let out a loud howl to the moon. He stood from the chair and made to run off into the woods, but before he could Hermione was stood in front of him, looking up at the taller werewolf.
He let out a snarl of warning, baring his fangs and his eyes glowing in the dark. Hermione didn't flinch.
"Liam Dunbar, what the bloody hell do you think you're doing snarling at me?" She scolded him as if he were a child and she his mother. "If you do not stop that right now, you will not be allowed to play with the other werewolves in the woods. Do I make myself clear?"
He growled at her.
"I mean it, you're not too old to be grounded and I'm not above doing so."
His growls quieted so Hermione slowly lifted her hand, holding it out in-between them with her palm facing him. His growls died down altogether and he sniffed at the air, his eyes landing on the metal disc around her neck and he titled his head to the side in confusion.
Slowly Hermione reached out with her other hand, taking his hand in hers and she brought it up until his palm was pressed flat against hers. He watched their hands curiously and when he visibly sniffed at the air, Hermione's mouth pulled into a small smile.
"You can smell them, can't you?" She questioned.
He tilted his head to the other side and slowly she wrapped her hand around his, bringing it down to her stomach and pressing his hand against her baby bump. Liam startled and let out a whining sound when the babies gave a hard kick and it thumped against his hand, a look of fascination crossing his face.
"Twins, a boy and a girl," she told him.
She stepped back from him, his hand falling from her stomach and he growled at her before stepping closer.
"I'm not going anywhere, Pup," she told him. "But I'm pregnant, I need to sit down."
Slowly she stepped back from him and while he growled at her he didn't follow her. She moved over to a tree and sat herself down, pressing her back against the trunk and once she'd gotten herself as comfortable as she could, she sent a nod to the temperamental werewolf. He all but ran over to her, dropping himself down beside her and bringing his hand up to her stomach, feeling the babies kicking.
"What's your name?"
"Liam Dunbar," he replied, the growl gone from his voice but it was deeper than before.
"How are you feeling?"
"Peaceful. Light. Tired,"
"If you're tired you can go to sleep, Liam."
"You'll stay?"
"I'll stay," she promised.
His gold eyes lifted from her stomach and to her face, seeing that she was telling him the truth he shifted until he was laid flat on his back and he rested his head against her thigh, her hand coming down to run through his hair and she hummed to him. Within moments he was sleeping.
She lifted her head to the others, seeing them all staring with their eyes wide and their mouths hung open and Stiles looked as though he were about to faint from shock.
"How the holy hell did you do that?" Scott asked her quietly.
"You're a werewolf whisper!" Stiles exclaimed.
She shushed him and sent him a glare as Liam shifted at the sound and Hermione soothed him by running her hand through his hair, before looking back up to them.
"You're forgetting something,"
"And that is?" Derek asked, eyeing the young werewolf as though he were a threat to his relationship with her and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Liam may be a Beta and he may be sixteen, but he's a newly turned werewolf. He's a pup and every pup needs a..."
"Mother," Derek muttered in surprise. "You were right, he needs a mother."
"I love hearing those words," she sighed, before shaking her head. "Exactly, he needed a mother, he needed me. I'm assuming his parents don't know, particularly his mother."
Scott shook his head. "No, he didn't want to tell them, he was worried they'd be afraid of him."
"That's why he's been struggling with controlling himself, because he needs the reassuring presence of a mother, someone that's going to accept him for who he is. This wouldn't have worked it I hadn't been pregnant. He smelled the babies which made him realise I was what he wanted. But it was the babies, too, they helped to calm him. You're still new at this yourself, Scott, so you don't understand the affect pups have on a pack."
"They represent hope, love and life," Derek explained to the confused looking teens. "In traditional werewolf culture a three day celebration was held whenever a pup was born to a pack, gifts were offered to the pup from allied packs and the pup was marked as belonging to the pack. Pups are the glue that hold a pack together, if there's one thing that will always be agreed upon it's that the safety of the pups comes first as they're the future of the pack."
"Liam's wolf recognises that and that's why I was able to calm him," Hermione spoke. "So, if either of you wish to have a run around and let off some steam, Stiles and I will be fine here."
"Yes, we will," Stiles nodded.
"I'm not answering your questions."
Stiles scowled and crossed his arms over his chest in a huff.
~000~000~000~
Three days later...
"Magic, they'll be back soon, stop pulling," Hermione scolded the large puppy as they slowly made their way through the woods.
Derek was picking Teddy up from school and she and Magic were going to meet them halfway like they always did, but Magic was a bit too excited to wait patiently and kept pulling on his lead.
"Magic, stop pulling," she scowled.
"I'll take him before he pulls you over."
Hermione startled and whipped her head around, sighing in relief when she saw it was only Scott, Stiles and Liam, which is why Magic didn't alert her to their presence; they weren't a threat to her.
"What are you doing in the middle of the woods?" Hermione asked.
She handed over the dog lead to the Alpha werewolf as Magic jumped up at him, trying to lick his face before he turned his attention to Liam, sizing up him and moving closer to sniff at him. Apparently deciding he liked the other werewolf he jumped up at him, making Liam blink in surprise before he scratched the large puppy behind the ears.
"Looking for you actually," Scott replied. "We know you live somewhere nearby but we were able to track you here," he shrugged. "What are you doing?"
"Meeting Derek, he's on his way back from picking up Teddy from school. Magic's too impatient to wait for them to actually get home and he won't stop barking if I don't bring him out to meet them," she answered. Scott snorted at her. "Why were you looking for me? There's not been a body found, has there?"
"No, not that I know of," he said, before turning to look to Liam so Hermione followed his gaze and raised an eyebrow.
"I asked him to help me find you," the youngest teen spoke. "I just wanted to say thank you for your help, I never got the chance since you were already gone when I woke."
"It's no problem," she smiled at him. "I knew what you needed as soon as I met you, technically you're still a pup and every pup needs a mother. And I'm sorry for not being there when you woke. I did stay for most of the night but Derek and I had to get home so we could make sure Teddy wouldn't be late for school."
Liam nodded. "I get it, but thank you, I was worried I'd never be able to control myself."
"Give it a few months and you will, in the mean time I'll be with you to help you."
"Every time?" He blinked in surprise.
"Of course every time," she told him. "Even if it's pouring down, you can just come to the cottage for the night, but if I happen to go into labour on the night of the full moon, you can't blame me for my own foul tempered snarls and growls."
Liam blinked slowly and his eyes darted down to her stomach, while Scott and Stiles snorted at her.
"Just how far along are you?"
"Twenty-two weeks, almost twenty-three, so there's still a bit of a way to go yet," she replied, lightly patting her stomach and smiling. When Magic suddenly started barking, Hermione let out a chuckle. "You can let him go," she told Scott. "Derek and Teddy are here."
Scott dropped the lead to the ground and Magic darted off into the distance, barking loudly and excitedly before squeals of laughter rang out in the woods, followed by a loud 'thud,' which was soon followed by Derek's voice.
"Magic! Be careful!" He scolded.
It was a few moments later when they came into view and Hermione smiled when Teddy ducked and swerved between trees and jumped over broken branches as he made his way over to her.
"MUMMY!" He called, laughing when Magic ran beside him, bouncing in his steps, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth and his ears flopping up and down as he ran.
Teddy barrelled into Hermione and would've knocked her off her feet if Liam hadn't stepped closer to her and steadied her. She gave him a smile of thanks and then looked down at Teddy.
"Hey, Teddy Bear, how was school?" She asked him.
"It was awesome," he grinned up at her. "We did spelling and painting and maths, I still don't like it."
Hermione chuckled and she heard snorts come from the others and she sent a quick smile to Derek when he approached them and then she turned her eyes back to Teddy.
"I played chases with Ben and Sam and we played soccer and I scored a goal."
"Football, you played football," Hermione corrected.
Teddy pulled back from her with a frown. "Daddy said it's soccer."
"Daddy's wrong, it's football. You and I, Teddy Bear, are British so for us it's football."
"Okay," he shrugged his shoulders. "Where's Gran?"
"At home, she's not feeling well so she's having a rest."
Teddy frowned before shaking his head and he turned to look at Scott and Stiles.
"Hi Scott, Stiles," he grinned at them and Hermione smiled when he moved closer to them and high fived them both. "Who's the werewolf?"
Liam blinked in surprise and then looked to Hermione, she just shrugged.
"He's special," she explained, before looking to Teddy. "Teddy, this is Liam, Scott and Stiles' friend."
"Is he a good one or a bad one?" He asked, his eyes narrowed slightly. Liam blinked again.
"Well, which are you Liam?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
He cleared his throat. "A good one," Liam spoke and at his words Teddy grinned at him
"Liam is Scott's pack, just like we're Daddy's," she told the little boy, and he nodded.
"Do you wanna play with me?" He asked Liam.
"What are we doing?" Liam said to Teddy.
Teddy grinned up at him before he reached out for Liam's hand and pulled him after him, moving off into the distance and Magic followed after them. Liam looked over his shoulder at the others, Hermione smiled at him, Scott and Stiles looked amused and Derek just shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.
"We have to look for rabbits and birds, and if we see one, we have to build it a home," Teddy's voice carried over to them.
"Come on then, boys, it looks like Teddy's leading us back to the cottage," Hermione said, slipping her hand into Derek's and moving off after Teddy and Liam with Scott and Stiles falling into step beside them.
They were nearing the cottage when both Derek and Scott came to a complete stop and they both sniffed at the air. Hermione and Stiles shared a look before Stiles was the first to speak.
"What is it?" He asked them.
"Someone's been here recently," Scott explained.
Hermione frowned, there weren't many hikers that walked the woods near where she lived, partially because the woods and trees grew thicker and darker, and also because it was too far from the road. She was literally in the middle of the woods.
"They smell like you," Derek muttered, turning to look down at her.
"Like me?" She questioned confused.
"Like you," he emphasised.
Her eyes widened when she picked up on his meaning, and she didn't miss Scott and Stiles sharing a curious look. Whoever it was, they were magical. She made to speak but Scott and Derek both turned their heads, angling their ears off into the distance.
"I'm picking up on voices," Scott said.
Derek nodded. "At least two, both male," he added.
Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had a bad feeling about what was about to happen and she needed to steady herself and her magic so she didn't expose herself in front of the others. She was just grateful Teddy and Liam were now behind them, Liam having spotted a rabbit hole and Teddy had dragged him over to it excitedly so they could examine it.
"British?" She asked.
"Yes," they both replied.
"Does one smell like spearmint and sugar, and the other old parchment paper and freshly cut grass?"
They looked at her oddly for her question but they both deliberately sniffed at the air, taking in the scents around them.
"Yes," they both spoke, looking at her expectantly, and from the way Derek was looking at her, she got the feeling he knew the same thing she did.
"How do you know that?" Scott asked her.
She took another deep breath and then steeled herself. "I know who they are, stay here and let me deal with this," she instructed.
"Hermione..." Derek began, but she cut him off with a shake of her head.
"No, I need you to stay here, I know you'll lose control of your wolf if you actually meet either of them and I'm not letting you be put on the potential threat to humanity list because of them. I'm happy in my life and I'm not letting them take that or you from me. Let me deal with this."
She didn't allow him to reply as she removed her hand from his and walked off into the distance.
"Who is it?" Scott asked.
"Her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend," Derek spoke, a growl wrapping around his words. Scott and Stiles shared a look.
"We're following her, aren't we?" Stiles said knowingly.
"Yes," Derek replied, looking over his shoulder slightly to see Teddy pulling Liam over to a tree and pointing up to the bird that sat in the branches. Knowing Teddy would be safe with Liam, he followed after Hermione.