Chapter 6
"What did you do to him" Scott snarled angrily edging towards the alpha.
"It's none of your business."
"Uh yeah, he's my best friend."
"Go home McCall."
Scott shook his head wondering what Stiles ever saw in the brooding jackass.
"Give him a reason, stop playing with him like a yoyo."
Derek's eyes flashed.
"You have no idea what it's like." Derek seethed, hackles rising.
"Yes I do, I worry about Allison all the time."
"I'm the alpha." Derek continued, his claws making an appearance his stance lowering as if to attack.
"So?" Scott responded, completely unphased.
"So I need you to know your place, stay alert, and make sure the pack survives." Derek demanded menacingly.
Scott shook his head, already bored with the conversation.
"You don't have to treat him like he's worthless." he clarified defensively.
Derek was inches away from Scott his eyes glowing red and menacing, a feral snarl escaping his lips showing a mouth full of teeth, daring him to say another word. Scott stared back challenging for a moment before looking away.
"Say something like that again and I'll make you regret it."
"Whatever. I'm out of here. " Scott inched past him and walked down the stairs.
Derek swung the door open and disappeared into the house, slamming it behind him.
Scott shook his head sadly as a roar emanated from the old hale house.
"Wait, do you need to stand watch?" Scott called back. No response came. Scott headed out.
It was late in the night when Derek heard it. He rose from his bed, positively blossoming with Stiles' sweet essence intertwined with his own, making him feel overjoyed and anxious at the same time. He escaped out of his window, landing silently on the grass outside his house. The alpha stalked into the forest quietly sensing the foreign entity somewhere in the foliage.
Derek followed his senses until he reached a clearing deep in the woods where the strange scent disappeared. He could tell from a mile away that something was a foot, a trap or a set up, ready to ensnare him. While he wanted to avoid it, he knew he couldn't allow intruders to walk freely in his territory, especially without an invitation.
Derek stepped into the clearing, his senses straining to filter out the circumstances. Something wasn't right.
"Well if it isn't the baby alpha." A deep voice emanated from the outer edge of the clearing, its tone gratingly playful.
Derek stilled his movements until the voice's owner walked into the clearing, materializing before him.
"Running water, plenty of access to live prey, humans that keep to themselves. A nice little sanctuary isn't it?" the voice slithered.
Derek was finally able to see the intruder, a massive man with long flowing hair in his early forties, which didn't make Derek feel any better. Derek knew from his family's lineage that a wolf could easily be hundreds of years old depending on its ability to hold the shift for long periods, stilling the aging process.
"What do you want?" Derek asked plainly.
The wolf laughed.
"Oh Mr. Hale. They said you had such a wonderful sense of humor. Let me introduce myself. I am Seamus, previously of the North Carolina pack."
"Why are you here?" Derek continued with his plain form of questioning, watching the intruding wolfs every move like a hawk.
"Isn't it obvious?" Seamus seemed to expand in size looking even more intimidating than before.
Derek knew what that meant.
"I want to start my own pack Mr. Hale."
"There is no room for you here, move on." Derek replied, his voice sounding like rolling thunder.
Seamus laughed.
"Oh I think there's plenty of room for me here actually." His eyes flashing like diamonds.
Derek took a step forward, a twig snapping underneath him. An instant later the sound of a spring loading snapped his eyes to the ground. Four metal ropes with shackles on the edges shot out towards him like snakes striking their prey. Derek's lightning fast reflexes allowed him to miss three of them, but his previous injuries slowed him down, allowing his right hand to be locked tightly in a iron shackle, the clink of metal around his wrist bringing him down onto the ground with a crash.
"I see that my predecessors have kept you on your toes." Seamus smirked.
"The law!" Derek roared, struggling to get free.
"What law?"
"You know." Derek snarled low in his throat trying to rush the intruder, the shackle straining against him.
"If a challenger wishes to contest an alpha for their territory, the challenger must face the existing alpha on common ground in hand to hand combat."
Seamus laughed with an unfriendly look in his grey eyes, now bright like two orbs in the darkness.
"You child!"
"Do you realize that all laws are sanctioned by the weak, looking to bring peace and harmony into a chaotic world they cannot control?" The wolf circled slowly.
"Do you think any war or battle has been won on fair play? You fool! Every side that has won a war has had an advantage. Better weaponry, more troops, better strategy, a penchant for spilling blood."
Seamus was slowly but steadily approaching, morphing into his wolf state.
"There is no such thing as a fair battle! The very nature of the struggle is the more advantageous party taking down the weaker quarry."
Seamus outstretched his hand, now a razor filled weapon ready to slit through Derek's flesh like it was deli meat.
"Good bye Mr. Hale."
Seamus slashed towards Derek's chest which Derek countered; causing sparks to fly into the air as claw connected against claw, the sound resounding into the night.
Seamus swung with his other paw catching Derek by surprise, ripping into his chest like five daggers stripping flesh, the freshly healed wounds reopening like knives cutting through butter.
Seamus retreated looking at his handiwork.
He stormed towards Derek again, this time, a mouthful of sickle sharp teeth aiming at Derek's neck.
Derek twisted his shackled hand up, extending the steel rope, catching the wolf by its jaws. He quickly brought the shackle against the ground taking down the wolf with an earth shuddering crack.
Twisting, Derek swiped at the creature's stomach drawing blood into the night air.
Seamus growled loudly and extricated himself from the rope.
"My what is that sweet smell you're wearing?" he breathed heavily against his injuries, preparing for his second strike.
Derek stilled, his heart beat frozen.
The intruder read Derek's inflection like a book, knowing he had struck a nerve.
Suddenly, Derek heard another presence nearby. He cocked his head and the presence was gone as quickly as it had emerged. His insides knotted in fear.
They had Stiles' scent.
Derek turned quickly and ducked to the ground as Seamus swiped through the air in a finishing blow.
"Almost" the wolf preened viciously.
Derek felt the crack of a tree in the nearby distance that was bending slightly against his pull. On instinct he moved slowly towards it, causing the rope to slacken.
"Just imagine when I take over this territory. This isolated little hole will be a refuge for rogues, and we'll chase away the weak and insignificant, building a fortress that will exude its power and incite fear into all other packs."
Derek waited, baiting his time. He tried to control his heart rate.
"I hope your chosen one is pregnant or with child Derek. Because with you dies the Hale bloodline." The intruder stated, circling slowly.
"Not that it mattered to anyone outside of this town." The wolf teased cruelly.
The creature bounded towards him like a freight train made out of pure muscle and fury.
Derek waited for his moment and then pulled the shackle tight against it, creating a line. The wolf was clothes-lined against the metal rope and Derek swung the remaining length in a loop around the creatures tree trunk sized neck, choking it. Derek tore massive gashes into the creature's abdomen, slicing through it like a butcher expertly ribboning a piece of meat. Derek twisted his claws upwards slicing through the creature's chest in his killing blow.
The wolf choked out, hacking into the night air as its lungs filled with blood. Derek pulled his claws out.
Seamus, or what was left of him, crashed to the ground like a hunk of dead meat.
Derek stared down at the dying wolf as the life escaped from its body, the wolf fading as the man underneath reappeared. He felt like throwing up. He felt sick. He was no better than they were. He was a killer now, several times over.
The werewolf's remains quickly disintegrated in the makeshift fire Derek made, leaving behind no traces of a struggle. The forest around him danced in the light from its flames, standing as the only witness to his crimes.
Derek inspected the shackles as he took them apart, inside one, the letters RTS were engraved in an ornate fashion. He tossed them into the fire with the remains of its owner.
Derek looked into the peaceful night sky. He felt disgusted, he felt alone. But most of all, he wondered what Stiles was doing.
The next day Derek woke up early, shaved, and put on a respectable looking shirt and a nice pair of jeans. He skipped his signature black jacket and drove purposefully into town.
Derek parked a reasonable distance away from the Stilinksi house and walked to the front door. He should have brought wine. Or flowers. Damn.
On the third knock, Sherriff Stilinski answered the door.
"Mr. Hale." the Sherriff acknowledged placidly, those his eyes were intensely observing him, trying to sleuth out the exact nature of Derek's visit.
"May I speak to you about an important matter Sherriff?" Derek responded, trying to quiet his racing pulse.
The Sherriff nodded holding the door open for him.
Inside Derek found the news paper open on the kitchen table and a single cup of black coffee.
"Here, pull up a chair." The Sherriff gestured.
"Thank you."
The sheriff ventured into the kitchen and pulled out a second coffee cup from a cabinet.
"Do you drink coffee or would you like something with more body?"
It was 10 in the morning.
Derek opened and closed his mouth like a fish, no sound coming out.
"I'll take that as a yes." The Sherriff murmured putting the coffee cup back in its place and then pulling two glasses and a bottle of whiskey out of a cabinet.
"Nice to have someone to drink with." The Sherriff continued. As strange as it was, Derek understood. Drinking alone, sleeping alone, existing alone. Derek felt the man's sadness in the cheery morning light.
Derek nodded.
"Stiles isn't here. He's at some job interview." The Sherriff fixed Derek with a stare as if saying, 'because of you.'
"I actually came to see you sir." Derek supplanted.
The sheriff cocked an eyebrow.
"Okay." The Sherriff responded, surveying Derek again, using his sleuthing skills to fish out Derek's motive as he poured two liberal amounts into the glasses. He passed one to Derek who took it with a polite nod.
"So what did you come here to talk to me about?" The Sherriff inquired take a long sip of his drink.
"I wanted to ask you if you could place a curfew on Beacon Hills."
The Sherriff looked at him waiting for him to give a reason. Derek was silent.
"Why." The Sherriff finally spoke looking directly into Derek's eyes.
'Because there are going to be people coming into town that want to kill me and become alpha' Derek wanted to say out loud.
"There have just been a few occurrences of strange people in town that's all. I think for the safety of the town we should just keep everyone in doors after dark." Derek stated instead.
"Strange people." The Sherriff echoed, sounding every bit of an interrogator that he was.
"Yes sir."
"Well since you've given me no real reason, the best I can do is put out more patrol cars after 9pm." The Sherriff rationalized, finishing off his drink.
Derek nodded, it was better than nothing. They wouldn't attack humans outright. Yet.
"You know my father was a Sherriff, and his father before him." The Sherriff topped off Derek's glass and then poured himself another.
"I come from a long line of law enforcement officials." He looked at Derek expectantly until Derek took a long draw, actually glad that the liquor relaxed his strained nerves.
"So what I'm saying is." The Sherriff shifted.
"Stiles isn't going to be a Sherriff. That's a given. What do you think about trying out your hand as a deputy?"
Derek stopped mid sip.
"Oh come on." The Sherriff continued, observing Derek's startled expression.
"At least think about it. You seem to have a want to keep some sort of order, keep those you love safe."
The Sherriff rolled the empty glass in his hands. The two had finished off more than half the bottle. Derek could feel the warmth spreading through his body. It was strong stuff. Stiles was right, the man was drinking himself into a coma.
"Uh sir. Have you had breakfast yet?" Derek asked politely.
The Sherriff nodded.
"I had a cup of coffee earlier. I'll be fine."
"Let me" Derek gestured. He stood and went to the fridge and after a quick glance at its contents, he pulled out a package of bacon and a carton of eggs. He grabbed a half a loaf of bread and popped it into the toaster while the eggs and bacon fried cheerfully in a skillet.
He didn't know exactly why he felt that he needed to make the Sherriff breakfast, but it felt right. He went on instinct.
The toast popped and Derek ladled the contents of the skillet onto two plates.
He placed three slices of toast on the sheriff's plate and a single slice onto his.
He placed the food in front of the Sherriff, who had not made any objection to Derek invading his kitchen uninvited.
"Thank you" the Sherriff spoke slowly, both surprised and grateful for Derek's actions.
Derek nodded.
The two ate in respective silence.
The Sherriff finally spoke.
"So."
Derek met the Sherriff's penetrating gaze. He spoke quietly.
"Stiles is safe."
The Sherriff let out a sigh, as if to say, 'kids these days.'
"You know. When you get into law enforcement, they give your loved ones a seminar in how to mentally deal with having your spouse being in the line of fire."
He stabbed his plate with his fork.
"Too bad they don't train us on how to deal with losses of our own."
Derek nodded.
The two continued eating in silence.
"Thanks for cooking" the sheriff spoke quietly raising his once forgotten coffee cup.
"No problem sir. Thank you for taking to time to talk with me."
The Sherriff waved him off.
"You're always welcome if you know how to make eggs like these."
Allison and Scott stepped out of Allison's SUV and peered at the single light shining from the Hale house.
"What did Derek want?" Allison asked pensively, her breath curling in the night air.
"I dunno, pack business."
"Should I be here?" Allison questioned
"Yeah, he asked me to bring you." Scott mumbled a concerned look on his face.
Allison laced her fingers through Scott's with a reassuring squeeze. Scott smiled back at her.
Derek was standing in the living room of the ruined Hale house waiting. Lydia and Jackson were there alongside three new recruits, Erica, Boyd, and Isaac, all of them looking just as on edge as Jackson did.
When the pair approached the group, Derek nodded.
"Alright everyone's here."
"So what's the deal captain H." Erica quipped, flipping her hair looking bored out of her mind.
"Derek do we still need to do these stupid patrols? Didn't you defeat the last rogue?" Lydia added on, her voice sounding irritated.
Derek nodded.
"There's an issue." Derek started looking at his pack.
"What happened now?" Scott asked sharply, his voice giving away the fear he was already feeling.
"The rogues aren't abiding by the covenant."
"Yeah, maybe that's why they're called rogues?" Lydia stated plainly.
Derek shot her a death glare. She looked away in submission.
"Werelaw is absolute" Derek responded, though the worried look on his face told otherwise.
"If they are overturning the very law that binds packs together, then we all need to be ready for a fight."
Scott swallowed nervously.
"It makes sense" Lydia added.
"If a pack can't defend itself against a couple of rogues, it's not going to be considered a pack by werelaw is it?" Lydia finished, her words penetrating the atmosphere.
Derek looked past her, ignoring the significance of her words.
"Training starts tomorrow. No one is exempt." Derek finished.
"But tomorrow's the game against Wood Bridge!" Jackson blurted out.
"If you want Beacon Hills to remain your home, you're going to have to make sacrifices!" Derek snapped.
"They're getting stronger aren't they?" Erica whispered, a statement more than a question.
"All of you keep your eyes and ears open." Derek finished.
"What about the Argents?" Scott asked as Allison looked on, her features etched with concern.
"For now we keep them out of this. Except you Allison. I need you to gather information about pack movements and let us know of anything abnormal."
Allison nodded.
The pack dispersed leaving Derek alone in the darkness.
Derek rubbed his temples slowly trying to rid himself of the headache that was building, ever since the last fight, his wounds had continued to heal but his muscles felt painfully stiff.
His phone rang alarmingly loud making his pulse quicken on instinct. An unknown number was calling. He picked up expecting the worst.
"Is this Derek Hale's phone?" An official sounding voice asked.
"Yes. Sir." Derek answered instantly recognizing who it was.
"Good evening Derek" the Sherriff's voice spoke through the phone.
"Good evening Sherriff." Derek replied
"First, call me Mr. Stilinksi for now."
"Second, I need you to meet me at O'Malley's at 11. I need to repay you for breakfast the other day."
"No, it's no problem sir." Derek countered completely flustered. Why was the Sherriff wanting to have dinner with him of all people?
"Meet me at O'Malley's at 11. He repeated.
" Or I can send over a police cruiser to come pick you up. Your choice." The Sherriff retorted with an air of finality that meant he was not taking no for an answer. The Sherriff hung up as abruptly as he had picked up leaving Derek with his mouth open like a goldfish for the second time.
Derek finds the Sherriff tucked into a booth in the darkened bar, rather fitting for an off duty police officer with a penchant for drinking in his off hours.
Sherriff Stilinksi held out his hand, Derek took it as they shook.
"Good to see you Derek."
"You too" Derek responded politely, on his best behavior.
The Sherriff ordered another round of drinks and turned his attention to a football game that was playing.
The waitress arrived with two beer glasses filled with a dark looking liquid.
Derek took a tentative sip. He made a face.
The Sherriff laughed.
"You're still a kid. It's a dark German lager. It's called Doppelbock. You'll start liking it when you drink it more often. It's an old man drink."
Derek smiled weakly. He was in fact, in his early thirties.
"Not in age, but then again, age doesn't really say much about maturity does it?" The Sherriff supplied slowly, his eyes reminiscing fond memories from the past.
"Stiles wet the bed till he was fifteen."
Derek bit his lip. The Sherriff definitely had a head start on him.
"Yeah. Had to buy plastic sheets. Nightmares." The Sherriff contemplated reverently.
Derek swallowed the rest of his beer dutifully, trying to catch up to the Sherriff's level of inebriety. He knew all about nightmares.
The Sherriff was a good guy. Derek realized how comfortable he could be around him. The Sherriff was calm and had an easy energy. he seemed like he was a great father. Derek found himself smiling and adding his own observations to the conversation.
And Derek talked, not about everything, but things that he had never discussed with others. The Sherriff didn't judge and seemed interested in all the things that came out of Derek's mouth. He offered advice and was pretty funny despite having the appearance of a law enforcement official. Even after the false arrest and his previous run-ins with the law, Derek felt like the Sherriff understood. It was strange and awesome at the same time. Yeah. Awesome.
And from that late night drinking session grew some sort of odd tradition between the pair. In between brutal training sessions and information gathering sessions with Allison, the Sherriff and Derek shared late night drinks and meals. The Sherriff would often mention Stiles in some capacity, missing him and wishing he was there to join in on the conversation like a hyperactive chipmunk, but Derek felt that deep down the Sherriff was enjoying his company as much as he was enjoying the Sherriff's. Being familiar enough not to be complete strangers and yet not so familiar to the point where they knew each other's past histories down to the saddest details made it safe somehow.
One particular night, they had both packed it in, finishing off two cases of beer and a bottle of whiskey and were making good headway with shots of bourbon of all things, till the empty glass container rolled carelessly around the coffee table. Derek's vision was swimming but the Sherriff on the other hand was looking calm and pleasant, his heart beat mellowed and his breathing slow, as is if he was sleeping with his eyes open. The two had traversed several conversations with clipped starts and beginnings, covering shop talk with most of the in between babble cut out, since only the important parts needed to be expressed out loud. Just the way Derek liked it.
"Stiles came back to get his essentials. He's found an apartment near his new job." The Sherriff murmured suddenly. His tone quiet and a little sad.
"This will always be his home though." He gestured to the walls.
Derek nodded slowly.
'I should go." Derek finished.
"You sure? It's only, wow." The Sherriff checked his watch.
"It's four in the morning." He announced quietly in surprise.
Derek stepped out of the front door followed by the Sheriff who was wobbling just the slightest.
Derek got into the driver's seat and the Sherriff plunked down on the rolled down window, his breath heavy with traces of whiskey and bourbon.
"So, when are you going to." The Sherriff hiccupped.
"Going to make an honest man out of my son?" The Sherriff inquired with a touch of interrogation laced into his slurred words.
Derek stared back, sobering up so quickly it felt like no alcohol existed in his system at all, though he was desperately wanting to drive a few miles down the road and take a leak on the side of the road because his bladder was painfully full after metabolizing all the alcohol.
"Sir." Derek faltered.
"John." The Sherriff corrected with a finger.
"Oh and Derek, if you hurt him, I hurt you. Understood?" His new drinking buddy ensconced.
Derek nodded. A new headache setting in. Did the Sherriff understand that he wouldn't hurt Stiles?
The Sherriff tousled Derek's hair causing the normally coiffed style to get disheveled.
"Good night Durrick." He slurred quietly.
Derek felt more relaxed than he had in a long time, even smiling into the darkness as he headed back home.
Derek sorted through an assortment of expensive looking bottles and took out a good number from the well preserved liquor cabinet of the Hale house. Derek smirked, knowing that If Stiles was here he would lose it knowing that both he and his father were taking up drinking together. Well the Sherriff started it and Derek was merely continuing the tradition. It only seemed fair.
That night, after finishing off the majority of the alcohol in the Stilinski house, plus a case of beer the Sherriff had stashed in the fridge, Derek called it a night, the clock on the wall reading five in the morning.
The Sherriff followed him outside and gave him a wave.
"Nice night."
"It is."
The Sherriff opened the passenger's seat and sat down, buckling up.
"Let's go for a ride."
Derek looked at him, one eyebrow cocked in confusion.
"Come on, I used to go riding with my friends when I was younger. Just go where the wind would take us. "
Derek nodded and started the Camaro.
It jetted out into the night.
Derek had never really driven for pleasure, often it was to think, and most of the time the purpose of driving was getting from point A to B. But as he drove with the Sherriff, he realized how much he took the simple act of driving for granted. The way the trees looked when lit up in the beams of his headlines, and how the moon served as a distant compass, guiding their journey. The smell of the night air, the sounds of the quiet forests, the lights reappearing in sleepy houses as people awoke to get ready for their everyday, ordinary lives.
Derek's reverie was broken by one simple question.
"Have you and Stiles had relations?"
Derek almost lost control of the vehicle, swerving narrowly to miss a large tree.
"Sir? "
"Done it, made love, intercourse." The Sherriff listed pertinently.
"No. Sir. John." Derek shook his head, glad that it was dark because the tips of his ears were burning bright red.
The Sherriff nodded.
"Why not?"
Derek's eyebrows took residence at his hairline, he swallowed hard wondering if he could jump out of the window of his moving car.
"Sir. "
The Sherriff rolled his eyes.
"You're both of age." The Sherriff gestured, like he was a cool kid asking a nerdy kid why they wore glasses.
"We just. The timing wasn't right." Derek responded slowly.
"So when will it be the right time?" The Sherriff inquired.
Derek exhaled; the mood in the car had gotten uncomfortably serious.
"I don't know. It doesn't matter now."
"Does it matter to Stiles?" The Sherriff prodded.
Derek's mouth twitched but he remained silent, his eyes on the road.
"Dude." The Sherriff continued, one eyebrow cocked in judgment the words resounding in both humor and placement.
"You don't have to go through life like that Derek. It makes it more powerful when you have someone to fight for."
"Is that why you're alone?" Derek responded sharply.
He felt terrible as soon as the words left his lips. He wanted to turn back the hands of time, even for a second to stop himself for saying something so unbelievably hurtful. What a horrible knee jerk reaction.
"John. Sir. I'm sorry I didn't mean." Derek stammered, his knuckles turning white against the steering wheel.
The Sherriff held up his hand.
'It's alright."
"No. I'm. I didn't mean it like that." Derek continued feeling like he was sinking into a pit of his own shame.
Suddenly, a flash of fur jumped out in front of the car and bounded out into the darkness. Derek slammed on the brakes.
"What was that? A deer? Or a Bear?" the Sherriff yelled in surprise.
Derek knew it wasn't a deer or a bear. He recognized the sneakers the creature was wearing when it had ran into the forest.
TO BE CONTINUED…..
And there it is, another chapter! I hope you guys are enjoying the story. Thoughts, reviews, feedback are greatly appreciated!