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Chapter 10

It was late afternoon when Stiles' jeep rumbled up the drive. Derek watched the grounds from the front of the house while the gate was open, his senses on overdrive as he kept a watchful eye on the front and a watchful ear to the back for any sounds of movement.

"Why are we here?" Scott demanded as soon as he was out of the car, stalking to the porch. Derek's gaze ticked to the Beta before turning back to Stiles.

"You brought everything I asked?" Derek asked as they youth slung his backpack onto his shoulder. Stiles glanced up at him and nodded. They'd followed Derek into the foyer before Stiles spoke. Derek was surprised at his restraint.

"Alright, so I'm here with what you asked," the youth declared, following Derek into the living room. "And considering we are both missing practise for this, maybe you could tell us why we're here." He huffed, his backpack sliding from his shoulder. "Cause coach Finstock is gonna have us doing suicides to make us wan— oh, hey Becca," Stiles greeted, when he noticed Becca sitting in the armchair.

"I think you're here to help me," she replied, a smile playing at her lips. She picked up her sketchbook and handed it to him. "I need to find out who this is."

Stiles studied the drawing, his gaze ticking from it to Becca. "You drew this?" She nodded. He looked down at the sketch again then to Derek. "How exactly am I supposed to help with that?" Stiles asked, though his tone suggested he knew exactly how Derek expected him to help. He just wanted Derek to actually say it, to actually ask him the favour.

"By scanning the drawing and running it through the missing persons' database," Derek ground out.

Stiles scoffed dramatically at the suggestion. "You want me to hack into a federal database? I'm good, but I'm not risking going to jail."

Derek's jaw clenched as the other three stared expectantly at him. "So, you don't know your father's password?" Derek gave him a skeptical look.

"And you expect me to betray my father's trust?" Stiles crossed his arms over his chest and defiantly lifted his chin. "For you?"

Derek picked up Stiles' back pack, leaning in as he pressed it to his chest. "Just do it," he growled.

"Okay, okay," Stiles muttered gripping his backpack. "Geez. Just so you know – this favour is gonna cost you, buddy. You owe me BIG. I don't know what it is yet, but you can bet it'll be like freakin' HUGE."

Stiles moved to set up at the desk by the window and Becca followed, pulling up a chair beside him. "Right," Derek turned to Scott. "We'll be back in a couple of hours, call me if you come up with anything." He grabbed Scott by the collar and led him out of the house.

"Where are we going?" Scott asked as Derek strode past his car toward the front gate.

Derek glanced back at the Beta who'd paused by his Camaro. "You're going to help me track the wolf from last night."

"I don't get it," Scott replied. Derek heard him hurrying to catch up. "Why are you helping her?" He fell in step with Derek as he continued, "She's a hunter. If she finds out what you – what we are – she'll kill us."

Derek didn't respond. He knew Scott might be right. He'd considered it himself, but something in her words that first morning about monsters being heroes made him want to believe she was different from other hunters. Tapping the code into the keypad he unlocked the gate and pulled it open, his scanning the grounds as he ushered Scott out. "Then let's make sure she doesn't find out." He led Scott around the wall into the forest beside the house toward where he'd seen the wolf the night before.

"Okay, why me, then?" Scott asked breaking the silence that had fallen between them. "Why not get Isaac to help you?"

"Because I'm trying to keep him out of this," Derek ground out. "I was trying to keep you all out of this."

"Yeah, great job with that." Scott folded his arms across his chest. "I mean bringing us to the hunter's house was a great way to keep us out of it."

"If you and Stiles hadn't been wandering around the woods last night," He spun around to face the Beta. "He's got your scents now and associates them with me – with her. I can't change that."

"Right so might as well get us fully involved, then."

"It's safer for Stiles behind that gate and for you with me – where I can protect you." Derek spun on his heel moving along the brick wall until he reached the corner. He closed his eyes, breathing in the scents around him until he caught the faint scent of the other wolf. "Do you remember his scent?" He turned to Scott whose eyes flashed amber in the dim shade of the forest. Scott nodded. "Good, let's see where it leads us."

It seemed there was something to the old saying two heads were better than one or in this case two noses. Whenever one of them lost the scent the other managed to pick it up. They fared well this way for nearly an hour before the scent completely vanished. "What now?" Scott asked, surveying the trees around them.

But Scott didn't know the woods like Derek did. With one glance he knew where they were and where the wolf was headed. He picked up the pace and heard Scott following. He heard Scott's heart begin to hammer and knew the Beta had realized where they were even before the Hale house came into view.

"Do you think he's working with Peter?" Scott asked, voicing the small prickle of doubt niggling at the back of Derek's mind. "Do you smell that?"

"Blood," Derek replied, quickening his pace. He rushed up the steps the smell getting stronger. He knew the scent of this blood, he'd spilt it once himself. It was Peter's blood. Had the wolf managed to get the jump on Peter? Derek wouldn't have thought it possible, but the blood staining the battered wooden floor gave him pause. He scanned the room for any sign of his uncle, but found none. Instead he saw a pristine white page pinned to the wall above the fireplace. He stepped over the blood stain, ripping the sheet from the wall.

Trade you. The paper crumpled in Derek's fist, his eyes shifting red at his barely contained anger.

"He took Peter?" Derek nodded, wondering if he'd led the wolf to his uncle. "But how, I mean Peter isn't exactly a pushover—"

"I don't know," Derek growled, hating the suspicion in Scott's voice more because it mirrored his own doubts.

"Do you think –?"

"I said – I don't know." Derek pushed down his anger and resisted the urge to make Scott stop talking. He brushed past him and back outside, searching for some sign of where the wolf had taken his uncle. There was nothing and he couldn't pick up either of their scents.

Derek raked his hands through his hair. He'd never considered the wolf would go after Peter. Never considered his uncle in need of protection. The wolf was trying to force his hand, to make him give up Becca and part of him told him he should. Just hand her over and everything would be back to the way it was before Rowan called in this stupid favour. But then he would have Rowan to contend with. And could he really hand Becca over knowing the wolf planned to torture and kill her? It didn't matter that Becca was a hunter, he couldn't just sacrifice her. He had to find another way. They had to find out who this wolf was and get Peter back without involving Becca.

"Not a word of this, not to Stiles or Becca." Derek turned to Scott, their eyes locking. "Understood?"

Scott looked like he was going to argue, but then just nodded. "For now."