Stiles was sick of the ocean by the third day. For the first couple of days, Stiles had stayed topside. Takahiro had accompanied him when he wasn't working. The two got along very well. Stiles took to Takahiro like a boat to water. They conversed in the Eastern Language so Stiles could strengthen his skills to prepare for his arrival. It would be easier to communicate directly with the Emperor than by use of an interpreter. This would also increase the Emperor's respect for Stiles.
Dinner that night had been fine. It wasn't anything extravagant like Stiles had been served in the palace. The meals on the Kitsune reminded Stiles a lot of the meals that he had with Derek and his pack. This ended up sending waves of nostalgia and longing crashing over Stiles. He remembered those weeks in Derek's little stone cottage before they traveled to Animas. Erica's bright and sarcastic smile, Boyd's surprisingly gentle personality, and Isaac bristling like a cat around a dog. Even in that short amount of time he had felt like they had become a second family to him.
Thinking of family made Stiles' stomach clench painfully. He had only been gone a few days, but he missed everyone back at the palace. Scott had been at the harbor but ultimately hadn't seen him off. Of course, the stable boy's mind was more than likely elsewhere. After all, he had a lovely wife back home and they were expecting their first child in the coming months. Stiles had never regretted anything more than he regretted not being able to be there for the child's birth. Even now, sitting in his quarters on the gently rocking ship, Stiles felt as if he would curl up in to a ball.
"Don't even worry about it, Stiles!" Scott had assured him with a hardy slap on the back, "Allison and I won't have any problem having another one!"
"Scott!" Lydia had yelled at him.
Allison was bright red but her smile was dazzling. She covered her mouth as she laughed and shook her head. Scott smiled—the one where his nose crinkled and his eyes shone with happiness—and wrapped his arm around her waist. His palm rested gently on her swollen belly. He nuzzled her forehead with his nose before placing a quick kiss on her lips.
"What a beautiful wife I have," he murmured against her skin.
She beamed up at him, "And what a silly husband I have."
Stiles stared at the blank piece of parchment before him. He sighed heavily and rose from his chair. Dragging his feet, he made it to his bed and flopped face first on to the stiff mattress. The piece smelled of salt and wood. He wanted it to smell like the earth just after a hard rain. He wanted to be back in Beacon. He wanted to be surrounded by the people who loved him. He longed to see his best friend's first child enter this world. Stiles wanted to be back in that little stone cottage. He wanted Derek there with him and really make sure he was alive. Stiles felt a pain in his chest and he grabbed his goose feather pillow. He squeezed it so tightly to himself he was sure that it would burst at the stitching.
The three wolves halted in their running. Their chests were heaving and their tongues hung slightly from their mouths. The wolves were reddish brown, tan nearly blonde, and a dark grey wolf that was bigger than the other two. The tan wolf had a pack on her back in a sling that looked as if it was made especially to be worn by a wolf. Their ears twitched this way and that, attempting to catch a sound. The reddish brown wolf put its muzzle in the air and scented the air. He whuffed and shook his head slightly. Nothing. The dark grey wolf nodded slightly and moved its left forepaw to continue forward. He whimpered slightly before limping forward and eventually falling. The tan wolf turned her head quickly towards him before her shape began to uncurl and elongate.
"Derek!" She yelled, her form now human. The reddish brown wolf quickly followed her lead and went from shaking his tail to rolling his head and shoulders. Erica knelt next to the wolf and gently put her palm on his shoulder.
"You're running a fever," she mumbled. Isaac moved next to her and took the pouch from where it had fallen during her shift. She nodded gratefully to him as she opened it and began to dig around for some medicinal herbs she always carried.
Isaac turned his attention back to the wolf, "Can you shift?"
The wolf's green eyes blazed defiantly at him and he whuffed sarcastically.
"Don't push yourself for our sakes," Isaac frowned.
The wolf shook his head slightly and growled before his shape slowly changed. His fur receded in to his skin. His muscles tensed and flexed as he changed back in to his human form. When he was back to skin and smooth teeth, he clutched at his stomach and doubled over.
"It's the wound, isn't it?" Isaac asked.
Erica shook her head, "Deaton even told us you weren't ready just yet. Derek why—"
"I'm fine," he growled at her. The furrow between his brows said otherwise, "Just, out of practice is all."
Erica and Isaac shared a look. Erica produced a small leaf from her pouch and handed it to Derek.
"Chew on this for a while," she whispered, "It should help ease the pain."
Derek looked at it skeptically.
"My two year-olds love them," Erica laughed lightly, "It's not bitter I promise."
After flicking it between his fingers a moment, Derek put the herb in his mouth. She was right—it wasn't bitter. He chewed on the edge of it and felt some of the inner liquid of the plant run down his throat. There was a slight cooling sensation that spread across his skin. True to her word, the pain in his abdomen began to fade slightly.
"Thanks Erica," Derek said. She nodded and looked in the pouch. She pulled out a long tunic for herself and two pairs of loose breeches for Derek and Isaac.
Isaac moved to support Derek as they stood. Derek was able to get himself in to the pants easily enough but was spent afterwards. Isaac pulled on his own pants and quickly was beside Derek once more.
"We should head back to the Preserve," Isaac suggested. Derek shook his head.
"I'm fine—"
"Derek," Erica interrupted, "You need to rest. You don't have to push yourself so hard."
He fixed her with a glare, "I need to keep working on building the pack."
"So you have something to show when Stiles gets back?" She offered, her voice taking a softer tone. Derek froze and his mouth pursed in to a thin line. Erica's eyes flicked down and she brushed something off the hem of her tunic.
"You didn't go see him off," she mumbled.
"Neither did you," Derek countered quickly.
"Wasn't my place," she shrugged and looked back up at him, "I don't love him."
Derek visibly flinched at this. He was quiet for a moment. The only sounds were their gentle breathing and the forest around them.
"Derek," Erica began again, "It's going to be months before he comes back. We have plenty of time. You know as well as I do that he wouldn't want you straining yourself while your health is still so unpredictable."
"Fine," Derek huffed out indignantly, "We'll continue again tomorrow."
Erica and Isaac smiled at each other.
"Can you walk on your own?" Isaac asked. Derek nodded and they began the trek back to the Preserve. Isaac and Erica were talking quietly with each other. She was talking to him about how Aeria had done something the other day. Derek tuned them out and began to think about his own future.
Boyd and Erica already had two pups of their own. Even though they were young, they were very spirited. Both of them were Shifters as well. One girl and one boy—Aeria and James. They had been named after Erica's father and Boyd's sister who had gone missing. Never before had Derek seen Boyd look any more proud or happy than when he held his baby girl in his arms. Boyd would protect his family with all his strength. The entire pack would—because they were a family.
Family. Derek looked up at the canopies of trees. He had learned that the woman who had killed his family was now dead. The world was a little bit safer for Derek and his bloodline. So why wouldn't he think of starting a family of his own? It's true that he had family in the pack. But that wasn't the same as having pups of his own. It was ideal to find your mate and fall in love with them. Then to build a family under the protection of the pack. Derek felt a pain in his chest. He had done two of those things. He had found his mate and fallen in love with them.
Stiles.
If Derek had gone to the harbor to see Stiles off he wouldn't have been able to let him go. Nearly every day while he was healing Derek thought of Stiles. Erica was constantly in contact with the palace so she calmed Derek assuring him Stiles was safe and well. She brought news of the comings and goings in the palace and the Kingdom. But Derek wanted to see it with his own eyes.
Derek had only been cleared to walk for a few days when he had gone to the clearing. He was remembering his father and paying respects to his ancestors. When he heard someone approaching, he had hidden himself. Who was coming this deep in to the Preserve? Why had they gone to that spot specifically? Then the person stepped in to the clearing and Derek had thought he had finally died.
It was Stiles.
The Shifter's heart had nearly stopped then. When he spoke and Stiles turned around, it was like time stopped. For a moment, neither of them moved. Derek didn't even think he breathed for those tense couple of second. It was like the two were trying to decide if this was real or not. His eyes tracked the movement of Stiles' Adam's apple bobbed while he swallowed.
"I missed you too," the prince had whispered. But the sound was loud and clear to Derek's ears. Then Derek had taken a step forward before Stiles was in his arms.
"You're real," Stiles said as he buried his face against Derek's chest, "You're really real. How? I saw you. Kate—she—"
Derek shook his head and smoothed the hair that had grown longer on Stiles' head.
"It's okay," he murmured against Stiles' hair. He held Stiles close and breathed his scent in, "It's really me."
They stayed in each other's embrace for what seemed like forever, but still wasn't long enough. When Derek moved away, Stiles' face fell and he seemed to reach for Derek. But he pulled his hand back and let it hang at his side. Stiles took a deep, shuddering breath and looked up at Derek. His honey eyes were serious and aged and Derek was regretful that he hadn't been at Stiles' side as he grew and matured.
"We need to talk," Stiles declared, "About everything,"
There were many things in that sentence. But Derek heard the hidden words in there. They needed to talk about them and what roles they played in each other's futures. Derek had never been more terrified in his entire life than in that moment.
Derek was brought back to the present when the cottage came in to view. There were peals of joyous laughter from the back yard. Boyd was there playing with the pups. They were climbing all over him and hanging off his limbs as he carried them around. His face beamed even through his playful growls. Aeria and James growled right back at him, snarling lightly before losing it and falling in to giggles. Aeria looked up and noticed them first. Her brown eyes sparkled as she jumped down to the ground.
"Momma!" She squealed as she ran towards Erica. Erica smiled and dropped to her knees to catch her daughter in a hug. Aeria laughed when Erica picked her up and twirled her in the air. James wasn't far behind, tugging on the bottom of Erica's tunic. The woman smiled down at him and picked him up as well. She nuzzled her pups' noses as Boyd walked over to them. She looked up at him as he bent over slightly to place a quick kiss on her lips.
"Welcome back," Boyd said to her and she nodded. The kids wrapped their arms around Erica's neck and scented against their mother.
"Boyd, dear," Erica began. She looked at Derek once before turning her gaze back to Boyd, "Derek's wound started to bother him while we were out. Would you,"
Boyd nodded, "Watch the kids for a minute?"
"Oh, I think they want to go see Uncle Isaac, don't you kids?" Erica asked with a mischievous grin as she placed the kids back on the ground. The kids both screamed with joy and stampeded towards Isaac. His eyes widened and he tried to yell out his protests. But it just became a shout as he was tackled by two energetic Shifter children. They climbed all over him and tugged on his hair.
"Ow! Ow! Erica!" Isaac yelled. The woman just laughed.
Isaac growled and shifted in to his wolf form. The kids just became even more elated as they climbed up on to his back. He whuffed noisily and shook his head. Aeria and James squealed as Isaac began to trot around the yard. The kids shifted partially—which was normally all children their age could do—and began to make little yipping sounds. Isaac howled and they tried to imitate him. There were little howls and a big howl in the yard that bounced off the trees. At the edge of the yard, Erica joined and howled. From inside the cottage Boyd howled too, the sound escaping out from open windows.
Derek felt a grin tugging on his lips. This was how it was supposed to be. He molded his lips in to a little circle and howled as well. His howl drowned out the others as they stopped to listen to their Alpha. Everyone was looking at him. Isaac even looked like he was grinning—smug bastard that he was. James tried out a little howl at first, testing the waters. Aeria watched him before turning her gaze back to Derek. The Alpha grinned and howled again. The two kids turned to grin at each other and then turned their faces to the sky. Their little howls joined in the chorus with their alpha and soon with the entire pack.