CH 7
Notes: another chapter up! Sorry for the delay.
Derek turned sharply and made his way back towards the Stilinksi house at a lightning speed.
"Is everything alright? It was just a deer Derek." The Sherriff offered in a worried voice.
"Yes I need to get home. It's late" Derek offered, though judging from the Sherriff's face, he wasn't buying it.
Three minutes later Derek was pulling into the driveway of the sheriff's house.
"Mr. Stiiniski I need to go." Derek gritted out urgently.
The Sherriff exited the car and stood next to it, he lowered himself to the passenger side window and fixed the alpha with a look.
"When I see you again. And that will be very soon. You and I are going to sit down and have a serious talk. Got it?" The older man stated, demandingly, eyeing Derek's white knuckles practically bending the steering wheel out of shape.
"Yes sir." Derek nodded staring into the darkness.
"Good night. Be safe." The Sherriff turned and walked inside.
Derek floored it. He blasted into the night at full speed. He hoped Scott remembered his training.
The Camaro sped through the night like a bullet, headlights dimmed, Derek's primal senses taking over. He was almost a mile away from his house when Scott's scent started intensifying through the night air, accompanied by a foreign scent that increased in waves. He made a sharp turn onto the abandoned road slowing down and moving his foot to the accelerator pedal again, when sirens bleared through the night silence. Derek grit his teeth. The sheriff had kept his word about the patrols, and given his track record, Derek's plans were going to crash and burn again.
Derek thought about jumping out of the window and sacrificing his car, which would allow him to get to Scott and whatever he was running after. But fleeing the police would just complicate things more. He sighed, hoping that Scott and whoever else he had notified would deal with the problem as he slowed the car down and pulled over to the side of the road. He shuffled through his glove box and took out his license and registration.
A gruff looking policeman with a severe beer belly approached the car, the beam of a flashlight stunning his eyes. Derek rolled down the window.
"Good evening officer. " Derek placated quietly.
"Do you have any idea how fast you were going?" The officer growled, aiming the flashlight directly into his eyes, making him blink painfully.
"No sir."
"License and Registration." The officer demanded into the night sky, as if Derek was too disgusting to even look at.
A second officer approached the car, flashing his own flashlight into the back seat of the car.
Well well. If it isn't the infamous Derek Hale." The officer sneered at his partner showing the license card with Derek's picture scowling back.
"Heading home after a night of debauchery are we?" The officer taunted derisively.
"No officer. I remembered I left the stove on." Derek supplied hoping the flimsy lie would give him some credence.
The second officer laughed loudly.
"I'd think you of all people would be extra careful with things that caught on fire."
The first officer threw the license back onto Derek's lap.
"Get out of the car."
"Officer? " Derek asked, his stomach constricting.
"Did he stutter!" the second officer barked flashing the beam of light into Derek's face.
Derek slowly stood against his car.
"Spread your legs and put your hands against the car. Spread out." The officer commanded.
Derek complied, his fear building. He hoped Scott would-be alright.
The officer dragged him away from the side of the Camaro and then slammed Derek against the hood of his car, his face bouncing against the cold metal.
"Have you been drinking Mr. Hale?"
"No. no I haven't" Derek replied, keeping his heart rate slow.
"Wrong answer."
"We don't like people who lie." The second officer conceded.
"I can smell alcohol on his breath. Cuff him" the officer commanded his partner.
"A little bit more time behind bars will help him with his memory." The first officer finished.
"The sheriffs going to be mighty glad that we caught someone with such questionability don't you think?" He asked his partner.
The two laughed. The second officer shoved him into the back of the police cruiser and slammed the door shut.
Derek was all out of luck.
Scott charged through the forest fur already growing through his pores. He bent down on all fours and followed the intruder. An intruder who had the guts to spy on him and Allison as they made out in his bedroom. A silver flash next to him growled out in anger.
"Where's Derek?" Jackson whispered angrily.
"I don't know, I tried calling him." Scott responded.
"He probably doesn't even know how to check voicemail." Jackson lamented.
The two stopped in their tracks.
A wolf, its back covered in blood, Scott's handiwork, turned to them.
"What are you doing here?" Scott growled. "This is our territory."
"Just checking out the view" The wolf responded coolly
Jackson slowly maneuvered himself so the two were equidistant from the lone wolf.
"You nasty little perv." Jackson sneered nastily.
The wolf took a step back and tossed something silver in front of him A cloud of dust permeated the air as soon as the pellet hit the ground catching the two by surprise. Scott fell to his knees coughing loudly.
"Damn it!" Jackson choked out.
The two ran in the opposite direction until the smoke cleared.
"I cant. I cant smell anything!" Scott groaned out, shaking his head.
"We lost the bastard." Jackson replied coldly, rubbing his eyes.
The wolf ran into the night, looking back at the small town of Beacon Hills in the distance.
The ring of a cell phone alerted him. He answered.
"Yes. He's not here. I'm heading back."
XXXX
Derek paced back and forth in the tiny jail cell gritting his teeth., his cell phone blinked worriedly on the counter outside .
The two officers sat chatting drinking coffee out of paper cups.
"I get one phone call." Derek tried.
The two laughed at each other.
"No go compadre. The Sherriff wants to question every unsavory character that we bring in during our night patrols."
The two sneered at him and turned back to whatever they were watching online.
Derek opened his eyes when he felt the first rays of sunlight hit his face. It had only been an hour and yet it felt like each minute had been an eternity. The sound of the key turning in a lock forced Derek to look at the rails to see the Sherriff with a peculiar look on his face opening the cell.
"Should I be surprised to see you in here?" The Sherriff asked quietly, so only Derek could hear.
"This doesn't look good." Derek supplied quietly.
"Nope." The sheriff jerked his head in agreement.
"What do they have you in for?"
"Drunk driving. "
"Did they give you a breathalyzer? " The Sherriff asked, his features looking somewhat guilty.
Derek shook his head, his pulse rising in hope.
"So that means we have no way of verifying that you were driving drunk. Great." The Sherriff lamented, though a small smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
"Got some winners from the academy this time." He continued sliding the rail Sherriff took out a ticket pad and wrote down a few scribbles before handing it over to Derek.
"Sign here and pay the speeding fine by thirty days."
Derek signed quickly and handed it back to the Sherriff. He tore off a copy of the slip and handed it to him.
He then took out a pair of handcuffs and placed them over his wrists. Derek looked at him, his face asking, 'what's this for?'.
"Lets go Hale." The Sherriff handed back his affects.
The Sherriff walked him silently to the front of the station and placed him in the back seat, shutting the door gently after him. Once inside Derek hurriedly dialed Scotts number.
"Derek, where are you?" Scotts worried voice echoed through the receiver.
"Are you ok? What happened?" Derek demanded over Scott's worried voice.
"Yeah. No ones hurt. We lost one of them though."
"That's fine." Derek cut off the dead space or any further explanation.
"Just stay put and don't go near my house." He finished well aware that the Sherriff could hear every word he uttered.
Derek turned he phone off before Scott could reply or even say bye. Regardless Derek thought, the Sherriff was about to find out a whole lot of what Derek did and he had to strategize to keep as much away from him as possible. Not to be secretive, but rather protect his newly found drinking buddy.
As the Sherriff drove, Derek looked out at the sleeping town, the morning traffic light compared to that of a bustling city's. Truly a perfect place to house those with secrets. A perfect place to call home.
The Sherriff pulled into the Stilinksi driveway and opened the door so Derek could step out of car.
He escorted Derek inside and sat him down at the table.
"Everything ok?" He asked redundantly, knowing very well that Derek was subconsciously devising ways to break free and run to find the members of his pack.
"For now." Derek conceded quietly.
The Sherriff started a coffee maker in the kitchen that chugged to a start and began dripping a dark liquid into the glass receptacle. He sat down leveling with Derek.
"So now talk."
Derek frowned slightly. This was the moment of truth.
"Derek' the Sherriff insisted his voice stern but gentle.
He nodded slowly.
" I'm a werewolf." Derek stated slowly. He felt like a weight had been lifted off him. It felt good. The coffee maker beeped in the deafening silence.
"I'm really disappointed in you." The Sherriff responded with a sigh.
"Mr Stilinksi." Derek pleaded after him.
He watched as the Sherriff walked into the kitchen and filled two mugs.
"Please."
The Sherriff fished into his pocket and pulled out a key. He tossed it on the table avoiding his eyes.
"If something else happens and you find yourself in trouble with the law, I won't step in to help. "
Something clicked in Derek. He shifted without thinking. The cuffs shuddered and snapped open against his wrists as his blood began to boil. He slowly descended onto all fours staring back at the Sherriff.
"Just stay out of trouble. I" The Sherriff turned around in mid sentence.
The Sherriff dropped the coffee mugs, which promptly shattered on the kitchen floor with splashes of hot black liquid. The older man passed out immediately afterwards.
XXXXXXXX
The Sherriff opened his eyes to find Derek peering down at him in human form, his eyes filled with worry.
"Mr. Stilinksi? Are you ok?" The alpha asked urgently.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I think."
"Do you remember what I. We were talking about?"
"Yeah." The Sherriff responded.
"About me being a werewolf?" Derek continued slowly.
"That wasn't a dream?" The Sherriff replied in a queasy manner, rubbing his head. Derek shook his head slowly. he helped the Sherriff to his feet, making sure he was steady on his feet.
"I need to get back to the station." The Sherriff lamented looking at the kitchen clock.
He noticed the food laid out on the table.
"You've been cooking in my kitchen again."
"Yes sir." Derek responded quietly.
"Can we talk now?" Derek supplied valiantly.
The Sherriff looked at him in wonderment. He nodded.
An hour or so later the Sherriff stared at Derek, half in disbelief.
"So you are a werewolf. And Scott, my son's best friend since grade school is also a werewolf. You're an alpha and there are others like you living in Beacon Hills. "He repeated slowly.
Derek nodded.
"And other alphas are challenging you for their chance to stake their claim in Beacon Hills. The Sherriff finished in a bewildered manner. "And you want law enforcement to stay out of the way."
Derek frowned but kept gaze with a nod.
"Well damn.' The Sherriff mumbled looking down at his empty plate.
"Are you going to be able to handle this?" The Sherriff asked slowly.
The alpha nodded.
"I'm amazed Stiles was able to keep this a secret for so long. "
Derek's pulse stirred. With all the craziness of the past few weeks, he had barely thought of him. A rush of emotions swept through his system. He sighed, relaxing himself.
Stiles was safe.
"I understand." The Sherriff spoke quietly.
"But Derek, if one body shows up. Or someone sees something. Supernatural or otherwise, the police get involved. Understand?"
Derek nodded without argument. It would be useless to talk back anyway. The Sherriff stood and took the empty plates off the table.
"I expect you here on Friday. We're having steaks." The sheriff instructed, putting the dirty dishes into the sink.
"Yes sir. What would you like me to bring?"
"I'm sure you'll think of something" the Sherriff finished leading Derek to the front door. He took a card out of his wallet.
"Go by this address and pick up your car.' He motioned getting into his cruiser.
"Oh and Derek?"
"Yes Sir' Derek met the Sherriff's gaze.
"Be careful alright?"
"Yes sir." Derek replied with a stiff smile.
xxxxxx
Derek called Scott as soon as he was back in his car.
"Where are you?"
"Derek where have you been?" Scott responded, worry traced in his voice.
"Meet me at my house in an hour" Derek silenced his beta with his direction.
"Ok fine. I'll tell Jackson."
Derek drove, well under the speed limit back to his house. It looked more desolate than he last remembered it. He took a moment to let his werewolf senses to kick in. Nothing had changed in the vicinity, he turned and slowly headed inside.
He stripped off his clothes, ignoring the gashes on the walls and the holes missing from the walls and floors. He bypassed the destroyed interior of his abode and stepped into the shower. He closed his eyes and let the water sooth his tired muscles. He could feel another headache coming on and wondered if it was a sign of him growing older. His mind wandered, as it often did, to Stiles. The thought of him besides him as he showered, the hot water warming his skin, the water falling on his face and lips. Derek's hands imaged themselves sliding down Stiles' waist and resting on his hips as he drew him closer. Derek's body couldn't help but respond.
"Stiles" he groaned softly, his eyes closed, delving deeper into his wet fantasy.
Derek stepped out of the shower, relaxed, his heart rate slowly coming back down to normal as he heard two sets of footsteps approaching.
He got dressed silently and opened the door to find a very worried looking Scott and an irritated looking Jackson leaning against his Porsche.
"Where the hell were you?' Jackson started.
"I was in jail" Derek responded meeting them.
"Why didn't you answer your phone?" Scott supplied.
"I don't know McCall, last time I checked they don't let you use a cell phone while you're in handcuffs." He gritted out in irritation.
"Show me" he commanded, walking into the woods.
His betas stared at each other before following.
XXXX
"I still cant smell properly " Scott whined as the three searched the area. Derek smelled something particular and metallic smelling on a clump of bushes and moved the fronds of the plant aside with his foot, showing a small patch of white powder.
"Get Allison down here and take a sample. Ask her to find out where it's from." He instructed firmly.
"Stiles would be able to get it done in no time." Jackson stated quickly.
"No." Derek flat-lined.
"I don't want to keep bringing Allison into this." Scott affirmed indignantly.
"She's a hunter. I'd say she's pretty well into this McCall." Derek retorted with a shake of his head.
He left the two.
"Where are you going now?' Scott called after him.
"To the store. I haven't eaten since last night. " Derek replied offhandedly.
The two watched him leave.
"Screw this." Scott murmured taking out his cell phone.
"He's going to kill you" Jackson spoke quietly, shaking his head.
"Whatever." Scott mumbled to himself typing a text with Stiles' name in the recipient line.
TO BE CONTINUED…..