Scott checked his watch. It was nearly 8:00 p.m. Just as they were all dozing off, Allison's hurried voice woke each of them with a start.
"Hey guys, he's waking up!" Allison whispered urgently.
Scott jumped up and rushed over to the side of the bed.
"Come on Allison." Ms. McCall urged as she helped Allison get up without jostling Derek too much. "I don't want you getting scratched." She said pointing at Derek's elongated claws. Allison hurried off the bed as Derek began to grow restless and move about.
"Scott, where is Dr. Deaton?" Melissa questioned.
"He should be here any minute," Scott assured his mother. He sighed in relief as he heard a loud knock on the door.
"It's probably Deaton. I'll go get it," Scott proclaimed as he jumped up to go answer the door. Scott quickly opened the door and ushered Deaton inside.
"Any change in his eye color?" Deaton inquired as he and Scott made their way upstairs.
"Yeah," Scott answered as he stopped abruptly. "They turned a dark purple."
"I thought as much." Deaton answered as they continued on their way into the guest room.
"Dr. Deaton, I'm glad you could is a little outside my experience." Melissa stated in way of greeting. Deaton looked over at Derek as his head tossed from side to side.
"Here, let me see him." Deaton instructed as he made his way over to the side of the bed. He lifted Derek's eyelid and peered at them with a small penlight he took from his bag. After about 5 seconds however, Derek moaned and turned away from the bright light.
"Scott, come here." Deaton beckoned.
"What is it?" Scott asked as he made his way over to his boss.
"Take a look at this," Deaton stated as he gently turned Derek's head and lifted his eyelid. "Look at the color of his iris."
Scott's mouth dropped open in shock.
"What's going on with him?" Scott asked in amazement. Derek's eyes were rapidly changing from deep red to purple, then back again.
"He's changing, evolving if you will. But not into something you'd expect." Scott looked up at Deaton with suspicion in his gaze.
"What do you mean, 'Not into something you'd expect'?" Deaton pulled a worn book out from his bag and handed it to Scott.
"There's a myth well known among both emissaries and werewolves. A legend really."
"What about?" Scott questioned absently as he turned through the pages.
"Here, read this." Deaton pointed to a small paragraph on a page he had stopped at.
"The Delta Wolf," Scott breathed as he read the title.
"The what?" Stiles asked as both he, Isaac, and Allison looked over to Scott.
"The Delta Wolf," Scott repeated.
"What does that even mean?" Allison asked as she strode over and peered over Scott's shoulder to look at the paragraph.
"Here, listen to this; When the need for a Great Apha emerges, there will be one individual lycan of incredible character and strength. This individual was chosen the moment The Nemeton sprouted, in hopes of protecting humanity against enemies of both supernatural and human origin. When the need arrives, the individual will be marked with violet eyes. This will be the only lycan ever gifted violet eyes. It will distinguish them from the omegas and betas, with their gold or blue eyes, and from other alphas, with their red ones. They will be known as The Great Alpha, or The Delta Wolf. Another alpha will also rise from the dust; a True Alpha. Together, no supernatural threat will be able to stand against them." Scott finished.
The entire group was silent.
"So…..what does that mean?" Stiles asked Deaton, still clueless as to what was happening.
"It means that the need has arisen for a Great Alpha. With the awakening of the Nemeton, many supernatural beings will be drawn here. Powerful ones. And the ancestors prophesied that when the time came, a werewolf would rise from whatever status they once were to become The Delta Wolf, a very powerful Alpha. There will only ever be one Delta Wolf, so they will be marked by the color of their eyes. And it appears Derek here was chosen."
"So, Derek's gonna be like some Super Werewolf or something?" Stiles asked intrigued.
"Not quite yet. The transformation takes a while." Deaton responded.
"Oh, Doc. Before I forget, I need to ask you something."
Deaton nodded for Scott to continue.
"Isaac and I tried to take Derek's pain, but it's not working. Is it something wrong with us? Or aren't we able to take this kind of pain?"
"That could be for several reasons, Scott. The first might be because Derek has an emotional wall that keeps things in or out. He doesn't trust anyone, and so he built a surreal wall around his emotions. I've never seen anything like it. Even an empathic reader tried, but they couldn't get anything off him. Why do you think he is always in control of his transformation?"
"That's kinda cool," Stiles mumbled.
"And the other reason?" Scott prodded.
"Second, he isn't letting you. This could be for two reasons. First, he's never had anyone take his pain. Second, he might be protecting anyone from feeling what he is feeling, so he blocks it with the wall. However, this is dangerous for him. When you try to take his pain, he tries extra hard to keep it from you, hurting him even more. But, he needs to let some of it go. It could have built up so much that it's slowly killing him. If it comes to it, he's gonna need you and Isaac to take at least some of his pain."
"What's that?" Stiles pointed at the syringe Deaton pulled out of his bag.
"This is a rare strain of venom from a South African scorpion that numbs everything from the neck down. But, it only lasts for about 2 hours. I can't give him anymore than this, otherwise it'll kill him. So only give it to him when he wakes up." Deaton instructed as he handed the syringe to Scott.
He turned back around to the still unconscious Derek and checked his wound.
"I don't think we'll need to drain it again, but just in case, keep an eye out for any swelling. I need to get going. In case anything major happens, give me a call."
As Melissa and Allison escorted Deaton to the door, Isaac moved over to Derek's bedside. He closed his eyes and sighed as he pondered on how to apologize to Derek once he was conscious. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Scott.
Isaac gave him a small smile in gratitude.
"Uh, guys. I think he's waking up again. Scott, where did you put that needle?" Stiles asked, spinning in circles looking for the syringe. He didn't want a repeat performance of last time.
"I got it right here." Scott gestured to the syringe in his right hand.
"It better be ready," Stiles warned as he moved over to Derek's other side.
Scott readied the needle as Derek's eyes opened. They were bright and glassy from pain, but they were also glowing a deep stormy violet.
"Hey, easy there Derek. We're gonna help you, just hang on a sec," Scott assured as he gently stuck the needle into Derek's neck. His eyes dulled back to their natural green state, and he began to settle down. After a few sharp breath intakes, Derek sighed in relief as all feeling left his body, and he became comfortably numb.
"What happened?" Derek asked, looking to Scott with a confused expression.
"What do you remember?" Scott replied.
"Not much." He admitted.
"Well, after defeating the Darach, we went to check on the others. When we got their, Isaac-"
"Oh my God, Isaac!" Derek looked around frantically until his gaze settled on his young beta, who had moved to a chair at the end of the bed. As soon as Scott had said the name, he remembered watching Isaac bleed from a wound made by the Darach. He then remembered taking his pain, like he did Cora's.
"He's alright. See? You saved him. I take it you remember what happened then?" Scott observed.
"Yeah." Just then, his body remembered how thirsty he was. As soon as he coughed, a cup was brought to his lips, and he drank conservatively, knowing from experience that gulping water was bound to make him throw it back up. As Scott set the cup back down on the bed stand, he turned his eyes back to Derek.
"Something you wanna say, Scott?" Derek demanded.
"What happened to your eyes?" Scott asked hesitantly.
Derek sighed deeply and looked away.
"I had to save Cora. And the only way to do it was to give her my spark."
"What spark?" Stiles interrupted.
"My spark that makes me an alpha. It's that extra energy that boosts your senses. I had a large enough spark so that I was able to save Cora. Which is why I am now just an omega." Derek spoke the last part quietly.
"An omega? Dude, I doubt you have any idea what you are." Stiles shot knowingly.
Derek's eyebrows drew together in confusion.
"What do you mean?" He questioned suspiciously.
"What do you know about The Delta Wolf?" Scott asked.
"Every born werewolf knows the legend. A group of emissaries prophesied that a superior lycan would rise from their present status to become The Alpha. The protector of the Nemeton, and the town that surrounded it. But...it's just a story my mother used to tell us when we were kids." Derek finished.
"What if I told you I happened to find a werewolf with violet eyes?" Scott baited.
"You've actually found a werewolf with violet eyes?" Derek asked in disbelief.
"Yup. Right in our backyard." Stiles piped up.
"The legend goes on to say that The Delta Wolf would be marked with violet eyes. But this werewolf can't just be any lycan. It's got to be a very powerful specimen."
Scott and Stiles shared a look before focusing back on Derek's story.
"The legend also says it's a very painful transformation, which is why the individual must have an insane pain tolerance level."
Stiles and Scott shared another look that didn't pass Derek's scrutiny.
"Who is it?" He inquired hesitantly. Judging by the silence that followed, and the silent communication between Scott and Stiles, Derek knew this wasn't going to be good.
"Just tell me!" He demanded.
"Hang on a sec," Stiles said hurriedly as he ran off to the bathroom. He promptly returned with a small mirror.
"Ok, look into this mirror and change the color of your eyes."
Derek looked at him suspiciously.
"Go on!" Stiles urged.
Derek sighed and straightened his head so that he was looking straight into the mirror.
He closed his eyes, then opened them. He jumped slightly as he took in the appearance of his eyes. They were glowing dark purple, and getting more intense. He seemed mesmerized by the color. He promptly screwed his eyes shut as the mirror shattered.
Stiles backed away, covering his face with his arm to prevent glass from getting in his face. Scott jumped back in shock, and Isaac stood up, concerned.
"It's me?!" Derek asked rhetorically in disbelief.
"Yeah, apparently it's you." Stiles replied.