The rain fell outside as I sat at the window. Cora and Stiles were talking. I still had the note in my hands from Derek.
Be back soon D.
I understood why. He needs to heal and understand what was going on. He is a target and now I have one. No doubt Kali and the Twins told Deucalion what I was and that is just another full can of worms.
" They were there for two days, waiting, hiding. That's what we're taught to do when the hunters find us... hide and heal." Cora said as I felt tired and alone.
" Okay, so is two days standard, then, or are we thinking Derek's on, like, some extended getaway?" Stiles said as I felt the air go still and filled with dread.
" Why do you care?" The younger Hale asked my friend.
" Why do I care? Let's see... because over the last few weeks, my best friend's tried to kill himself. His boss nearly got ritually sacrificed. A girl that I've known since I was three was ritually sacrificed. Boyd was killed by alphas. My friend is found out by them and probably has a target on her back now! I... do you want me to keep going? 'Cause I can, all right? For, like, an hour." Stiles replied as he looked at her then me. I gave him a comforting nod as he calmed a little.
" You think Derek can do anything about that?" Cora asked him as I got up and walked to the stairs.
" Well, since he's the one everyone seems to be after, it's more like he should do something about it, yeah." Stiles replied as I smelt a sinister scent.
" I don't know. There's something different about him now. He wasn't like this when we knew him." Cora said as I felt my eyes flash as I saw him walk down the stairs.
" What was he like?" Stiles' voice echoed in my home.
" A lot like Scott, actually. A lot like most teenagers... unbearably romantic, profoundly narcissistic, tolerable really only to other teenagers." Peter said with that oh-so tolerable air about him, cry me a fucking river.
" And so what happened? What changed him?" Stiles asked as Peter settled down on the stairs.
" Well, the same thing that changes a lot of young men... A girl." He said as I had a feeling going through my body. I knew there was a girl before Kate came in and seduced my mate. Self-Righteous bitch!
" You're telling me some girl broke his little heart? That's why Derek is the way he is?" Stiles asked as I quirked up my eyebrows.
" Do you remember Derek before he was an Alpha had blue eyes? Do you know why some wolves have blue eyes?" Peter asked as I already knew the reason.
" I just always thought it was, like, a genetic thing." Stiles asked as Peter shook his head.
" If you want to know what changed Derek, you need to know what changed the color of his eyes." Peter told us.
" Being a sophomore, he was again like Scott till he met her." He said as I let him go on.
" Okay, so if Derek was a sophomore back then, how old was he? How old were you? How old are you now?" Stiles asked the questions, oh man here we go.
" Not as young as we could have been, but not as old as you might think." Peter said as it was more confusing.
" Okay, that was frustratingly vague. How old are you?" Stiles asked Cora.
" I'm 17." She replied as Stiles nodded at this.
" See, that's an answer. That's how we answer people." Stiles said as I sighed.
" Well, 17 how you'd measure in years." Cora perked up and Stiles shook his head.
" All right, I'm just gonna drop it. What happened to Derek and the cello girl?" Stiles asked as I walked to the window. As Peter told the story, it felt like he was leaving parts out, as if telling part of a story to his own volition. Soon he came over to the window and drew a spiral in the window condensation.
" Our mark for vendetta." Peter said in a low tone.
" Man, you guys really take that revenge thing to, like, a whole new level, don't you?" Stiles asked as I felt slight anger in the room.
" It's not just revenge. Losing a member of your pack isn't like losing family. It's like you lose a limb." Cora said as Peter continued to tell the story. Again, it felt like he was leaving big details out of it.
" I don't get it. What does this have to do with Derek?" Cora asked as Peter looked at her.
" Everything. It's never just a single moment. It's a confluence of events. Personally, I looked at Ennis' circumstances, I saw a profound loss. Derek saw something different. He saw opportunity." Peter said in a lashious tone.
" Opportunity? To do what?" Stiles asked the elder Hale.
" To always be with her. The thing was, he had this constant fear. He was obsessing over it, thinking about it all night, all day, always on his mind." Peter continued. As the story kept going. The feeling never left my brain.
" I kept telling him not to do it. Every day the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. You know teenagers. I bet he even blames me. He's probably convinced himself the whole thing was my idea." He said as if trying to convince us. I wasn't in the slightlest, not that I would even show it. Peter got on about the druids, thats when Cora spoke up.
" They keep us connected to humanity. But they're a secret even in the pack. Sometimes only the Alpha knows who the emissary is. Derek and I had no idea about Deaton." Cora said as Peter nodded.
" Or his sister, Morrell." The elder Hale said as I saw Stiles' eyes widened.
" She's an emissary too?" Stiles asked them.
" For the Alpha pack." Peter told us, what the fuck! Really!
" Our guidance counselor? Oh this is just nuts!" I said as I let out a laugh.
" Why the hell don't you people tell me any of this stuff, huh? I shared some really intimate details with her." Stiles said outloud.
" And did she give you good advice?" Cora asked him, he nods.
" Actually, yeah." Stiles replied.
" That's what they do. That's what Deaton used to do for Talia." Peter replied to him. Peter told us that Derek had chosen Ennis to turn Paige.
" Ennis? Why would he choose him?" Cora asked her uncle.
" Why not? Ennis needed a new member for his pack. Paige was young and strong. Doing a favor for Derek meant Ennis would be in good with Talia. Back then, everybody wanted to be in good with her." Peter said in an envious tone. Probably of his sister.
" He doesn't remember it was Ennis, does he?" Stiles asked Peter, who shrugged.
" If he does, he keeps it to himself." Peter replied as I saw the two teens curious.
" So then what happened? Did he turn her?" Stiles asked.
" Almost. He came at Ennis. A 15year-old boy against a giant. There was no reason for him to fight. She'd already been bitten." Peter said as if slightly blurred into his memories.
" So did she turn?" Cora asked as I already knew the answer.
" She should have. Most of the time, the bite takes. Most of the time." Peter said as I felt the sadness.
" When you offered it to me, you said, "if it doesn't kill you."" Stiles reitterated.
" If." Peter replied to him.
" He knew the answer, though. It didn't matter that she was young and strong. Some people just aren't made for this. But she fought. She struggled desperately, trying to survive." Peter said as I watched him. I felt all kinds of wrong listening to this.
" I remember taking her body from his arms, to the woods, to a place where I knew that it would be found... another in a long line of Beacon Hills animal attacks." Peter said as I see Cora looked to almost want to cry.
" And what about Derek?" Cora asked her uncle.
" Taking an innocent life takes... Something from you as well, a bit of your soul... darkening it, dimming the once brilliant, golden yellow to a cold, steel blue... like mine." Peter said as he made his eyes glow. I walked away. I know that the tale Peter weaved for his niece and Stiles had to be false, it doesn't matter if he has changed. That doesn't feel like it's the truth. I walked into the bathroom and looking the full-sized mirror. I let my eyes drift to the claw scars on my arm, the marks from Jackson when he was the Kanima. I lifted my shirt to see the bullet scar from Matt when he went mad during his killing spree of most of the 2006 swim team. All those scars painted my skin of the battles I had faced and made it out alive. Then I looked at the one scar that made my heart skip a beat. Hidden by my hair, I moved it from my neck. Derek's mark on me. The mark that proved I was his equal. That he chose me over all others. I smiled as I thought about the one displayed on his neck. A scent made me come out of my thoughts. I saw the elder Hale staring at me.
" Jesus! Do you have anything better to fucking do than be a fucking creep?" I asked in annoyance.
" Looking at your vanity?" Peter asked as I let myself calm down. His little tale. I had to say something.
" That tale you told. I know you left out key details." I said looking at his reflection. He took a step forward.
" Manipulative and always wanting something in return." I told him with my eyes glowing.
" And yet you are still standing as if you do nothing wrong, that you never left a blood trail in your wake. That you make it out scott-free." I said turning to him.
" I'm watching you." I said before moving past him. I walked out to the balcony and sighed. I heard the door open to unveil Cora.
" So you are a mermaid?" She asked as I nodded.
" That's cool." She said standing next to me.
" As much as it is. I can't shower without popping a tail." I said as I smirked.
" You ok with being Derek's mate?" She asked as I smiled.
" Derek's my one and only, he has scars but you know what so does everybody. Derek's are different. I love him for who he is and that's all he needs to be." I told her. She smiled at me.
" You Hales hardly ever smile, but when you guys do, it lights up the room. Except for Peter's. His just creeps me out." I told her, and she let out a laugh.
" You bring out the best in Derek, since I came back, he's better and it almost feels like before the fire." She said with a grin. She heads inside.
" Looks like I made a good impression on the younger Hale." I said before looking at the moon. I placed a hand on the bite scar.
I hope you are safe. I thought about Derek and hoped he could feel what I was thinking.
I am and I'll be back soon. Derek's thoughts rang through the bond. I smiled and looked at the sky, knowing he was safe and would return soon.