This is a Stiles & Derek free chapter. It is an interlude to let you know what is happening back in Beacon Hills while our favorite snuggle-wolves are… well, snuggling!
…..
As Derek and Stiles snuggle and bond, tongues are wagging in Beacon Hills…
"Hale residence, this is Talia."
"Talia, Jennifer Blake here, I can't believe what happened! How are you and Alexander doing? Are you supporting them? I bet you were furious when you heard, right?"
"What are you talking about?" Talia was irritated already, all day the other Senate workers had kept shooting down her ideas and it was pissing her off.
"You haven't heard?" Jennifer gasped dramatically.
"Oh, for crying out loud, Jennifer, just tell me," Talia growled.
"Well, it all started at the hotel earlier today. Derek went to check out and asked the manager for the address of the bar's waiter, Stiles," Jennifer said slowly.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Talia demanded, her heart beginning to race.
"The manager made some comments about Stiles, you know, the usual. Well, Derek went ballistic! Grabbing the manager by the throat and slammed him into the wall, claiming that Stiles was his mate. He went on and on, it was quite thrilling, talking about a Death Challenge and ripping the throat out of the manager if Stiles was hurt," Jennifer went on. "Of course, Death Challenges are so passé…"
Talia's mind was racing. Derek's mate was Stiles? That was who he was in love with? Dear gods, he never knew the omega's name and if the Sheriff didn't mention it, he wouldn't know that Stiles was his arranged mate. She realized Jennifer was still talking and continued listening.
"… lecturing the whole town, calling everyone bullies and challenging anyone who hurt his mate, his omega. I swear, it was like watching a movie! Then he rushed out of there. From what I heard, they were later seen driving out of Beacon Hills together. I don't know what Derek is going to do with that omega, he was pretty beat up last time I saw him," the woman chuckled blithely. "But then again, he's pretty beat up every time I see him."
"Thank you for the call, Jennifer, I appreciate it," Talia said, ready to dismiss her.
"But wait! You haven't heard the last bit," Jennifer quickly jumped in.
"Please continue then." An impatient sigh was breathed into the phone.
"Well, I wasn't there, but Allison Argent was there and she was all excited to go tell her alpha that his old friend was having a claiming ceremony in New York. Apparently, Stiles called Danny, you know, that cute bartender? Yeah, he invited Danny to the ceremony. Are you invited? Oh, but wait, you didn't even know, so how could you be?" Jennifer asked, the question digging in with her mocking, vindictive tone.
"Of course I am, dear, which is why I have to go. I am in the middle of packing," Talia lied.
A disbelieving huff sounded. "I thought you didn't know."
"I don't like to gossip, dear. It is below me. Like you. Now, if you'll excuse me," Talia said and hung up, barely catching the offended gasp coming through.
Derek was getting mated! It was happening, finally!
Dialing quickly, she tapped her nails on her desk as she listened to the rings.
"Stilinski," the Sheriff answered.
"It's Talia. Have you heard?"
"I heard a rumor, but I don't know how much of it is true. What did you hear and from whom?" John Stilinski asked.
Talia quickly shared what Jennifer said, then John told her basically the same story, adding in the fact of someone seeing the two coming out of the forest as wolves, shifting, then leaving together.
"Is it still possible?" he asked when they went silent.
"I'm pretty sure it is. I need to be there for the claiming ceremony," Talia told him.
"Don't you think both of us should be there?" John asked, irritated that she was leaving him out, as she tended to do with most things. She discounted the fact that Stiles was his son and none of this would be happening without him. He, of course, discounted the fact that he'd abandoned and severely abused his son through neglect.
"Do you really think you can convince them to do this? Would Stiles listen to you?" Talia asked him point blank.
"Of course he would, he is an omega and my son. He knows better than to ignore me," John snapped.
"Right. John, don't be dim. This is a delicate situation. We both know you have zero chance of forcing or sweet talking Stiles into helping us. Alexander and I have a chance. Alexander had a moment with Derek right before he left and it leads me to believe it could open the door to renewing the relationship. If that were the case, I would have both of them right there, ready to go through with the plan," Talia said. She knew for a fact that Derek would most likely go after John quite violently if he were to show up at their door. As much as the town had punished Stiles, it would never have happened if John had kept Stiles in the home.
"Fine. But remember, this deal is for both of us, not just you. We both signed the agreement," John reminded her.
"Of course, John," she patronized. "I will be leaving for New York in the morning. I will keep you apprised of the happenings. Be ready when I come back. The magics won't last for long after the ceremony. We'll both need to have our people in place."
"I will be ready. I've been ready for years, damn it. It's about time," he muttered.
"No kidding. I do believe when they are done, I may have to teach them a lesson," Talia said with a sharp laugh.
"And you think I'm brutal," John said, joining her. Finally things were going to go his way. He was extremely popular after kicking Stiles out, now they were looking to blame him for Stiles being the useless rag that he was. If he couldn't control his son, how could he control and protect the town? People were so fucking fickle, he thought. But if this went well, he wouldn't have to worry about his job ever again.
"I just want this over. I have plans that have been in the works for years," Talia said, thinking about all the politicos that were against her. That would be changing very quickly.
"Where did your grandfather learn all this stuff anyway?" John had always been curious.
"Old legends and stories from wolves who've seen it work," she said, suddenly missing her father who had died shortly after helping her and John write up the agreement. This was all possible because of him. If he hadn't noted the circumstances surrounding the births of Derek and Stiles, the magics would have gone to waste, never to be used and appreciated. And she was more than willing to use and appreciate them. "I've got to pack. I'll be in touch."
They hung up and she went to the safe and pulled out the original document containing the mating agreement. She'd given Derek a copy, lucky for her he hadn't noticed it. There was no way she would have given him the original. Once the signatures were in place and the blood dripped onto the page, as happened in every mating ceremony, the magics would be available for use. And it would be used. And she would finally be powerful.
. . . . . . .
At the same time….
A lighter was flicked on with irritating regularity, the owner of it pacing back and forth.
"Are you sure? He's definitely gone?"
"Yeah, it was him. Jennifer was in the hotel when Hale went off on the manager. He said he was Stiles' mate and threatened him with a Death Challenge if Stiles was hurt. Then when I was driving back from work yesterday, I passed them shifting and getting into a truck together. Stilinski hasn't been seen or heard from since. Then that bartender at the hotel was heard on the phone congratulating him and talking about planning a trip to New York for his claiming ceremony," the man reported.
"Yeah, the news is spreading pretty fast around town. Jennifer has been running her mouth since the hotel incident. Word is bound to reach their parents soon," a second man noted.
The man with the lighter nodded, his expression grim. "They'll be pissed off, that's for sure. Without the signed declaration of mating and blood samples from both to show they are mated, they can't get the benefits of the original agreement. The agreement that my father had the opportunity to read many years ago, it might have been breaking and entering, which is all hearsay," he said with a wink. "The Sheriff won't get his guaranteed re-elections for life and Mrs. Hale will be denied entry into the upper Shifter Senate. That seat would have gotten her into the exclusive 'club', basically giving her nearly ultimate power in the Senate. How this deal worked, why their kids have to mate, is a mystery to everyone but Talia Hale. Her and her father came up with the scheme before he passed away." He pointed to his men. "I want you guys to look into it, why it had to be them. My father is in the Senate and he would be affected if this whole arrangement ends up coming together. He told me all this one night when he was drunk, right before he told me to go after Stilinski a couple times for him. This lighter is a gift from him," the lighter man noted thoughtfully. "Find out everything you can, including where the original agreement is. I have to get ready for a road trip."
The two men left, leaving the lighter man alone, still flicking the lighter on and off, open and closed. For years, Jackson Whittemore's father had been obsessed with the Stilinski/Hale situation. As time passed and the date of the mating drew closer and, with it, the possible end of his power in the Senate, he regularly came home and beat the shit out of Jackson and his mom. When the ceremony went bust, he'd taken them to Europe and spoiled them.
Since then, life had been good. Even better after his dad caught him beating the crap out of Stilinski the first time. He'd gotten the cell phone upgrade he'd wanted. Since then, the gifts had been pouring in. The more miserable Stilinski was, the better off his life was. He now had the car he wanted, the extra cash he wanted, the status he now demanded as people watched him be the alpha the town needed. The alpha who kept the trash in line and the drug scene running smoothly and under the radar. With Stilinski gone, his world had the potential to go straight down the shitter. That wasn't going to happen. Neither was this mating. He needed to get to New York before it happened. If Hale already claimed Stilinski, then there was only one way to make sure this deal didn't go through.
He had to kill Stiles Stilinski.
Flicking the lighter closed, he got out his phone and began making preparations.
Start spreading the news,
I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it.
New York, New York!
I want to wake up
In that city that doesn't sleep
And find I'm king of the hill, top of the list
King of the heap
These little town blues
They have all melted away
I am about to make a brand new start of it
Right there in old New York
….
This chapter drove me batty. I rewrote it six or seven times. I hope it made sense. Be kind.