Scott, Isaac and Chris are scouting out Hester's mansion. They don't know how many werewolves they will encounter. They don't know if Derek is there willingly.
Mr Stilinski is getting better, but Stiles is not. Isaac (and Derek) makes a decision that will change the story. (My beta told me that since I'm the author, I have to know what's going to happen, but I promise you, what Isaac did in this chapter came as a surprise for me too.) This OC will be a permanent fixture. Don't hate me.
If they had payed any attention to the cars they met on their way, and if Isaac or Scott had looked at the occupants of those cars, they would have recognized Hester in the driver's seat of a BMW.
If they had payed attention, they would have known that the leader of the pack had left the premises together with three other people. That they didn't notice, wasn't so strange. It was dark, and even if they were off the highway, the speed limit was 50. To actually see anything in the passing cars, they would have had to know what to look for.
They didn't pay attention. They were looking at the GPS and the computer, comparing notes when Hester and her pack passed them.
This went the other way too; Hester and her pack weren't paying attention to the drivers of the meeting cars either. If she'd done so, she would have recognized Chris Argent, and she would have suspected that something must have gone wrong with her plan.
At this very moment, Hester and most of her pack were out dining with people she normally wouldn't be caught dead with. She'd befriended a family from Beacon Hills, just to learn more about Chris Argent's whereabouts. For them, she appeared as a single mother, contemplating on moving there.
In the meantime, Chris, Isaac, and Scott were trying to get closer to the house without being spotted. Crawling through the tall grass at the back of the building, they managed to get within hearing range for a werewolf.
There wasn't much to hear at first, but after about fifteen minutes, a door opened and a young man came out. They all recognized him as the guy they had been following. He paced the patio for a few minutes before he slumped down on a garden chair. A voice was heard from the inside. "Don't be so cocky about it. You got caught, Hester is going to punish you."
The guy on the outside chuckled and leaned back. "But I didn't reveal anything. They tried to torture me, but you know..." The other guy came out also and he shook his head. "Yeah I know, you're into that sort of thing. You're probably looking forward to the punishment."
The other young man disappeared for a moment, but then he came back with two glasses of wine. "Well, don't be too hopeful. Her new pet seems to be adjusting well." He handed one glass to the guy on the chair before he took a sip of the other one. "If I've dared I would have killed him now, he's screwing up everything."
The other one looked up and took the glass. "Pfft, he's practically dead. He will never succumb to her treatment. That Hale guy will never submit to her." He frowned a little. "I know the type. He would be turned on by inflicting pain, not receiving it."
After a few minutes of silence, the one on the chair threw a quick glance through the window. "Should we check on him?" He put the glass down and stared at his fellow pack-member. He received a small head-shake. "No point, he is locked up safely. ...unless you want to admire his bulging muscles and his perfect jawline." He chuckled a little. "I have a feeling that you would actually like to have him in this pack."
They didn't say much more. For another fifteen minutes, they just sipped wine and stared into the darkness surrounding the house. "She left him in your care. I mean... our care. We should check." The guy on the chair got up abruptly, and entered the house again. The other one shook his head, and followed before he closed the door behind them.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
When Allison's phone vibrated on the table, she hurried to grab it. She'd been dozing off a bit, but the chair was quite uncomfortable. Stiles seemed to be sleeping with his head on the mattress of his dad's hospital-bed.
"Yeah!" She whispered, trying not to disturb the Stilinskis. It was Scott. He was whispering also. "We've found their lair." He drew his breath quickly. "We've found Derek."
Allison almost jumped up from her seat. Stiles had reluctantly revealed to her why he was so sad, and now there could possibly be an answer to all the questions. "Where? Alive?" She huffed the words out so Stiles wouldn't hear her. Scott confirmed that they believed Derek was alive and well, but not free.
"Technically we don't know shit. We know they have a prisoner or something like that, but we can only guess that it's Derek." He paused for a second. "Derek's phone is nearby, so... all in all, the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming."
A quick glance over at the bed showed that Stiles hadn't changed position, and it sounded like he was still asleep. "What can I tell Stiles? He's worried." she did her best to keep her voice down. "He has even started to think that Derek could have left him for good."
It took a while before Scott replied, but then he sighed. "Tell him to have faith. We're gonna try to get Derek out." Allison could hear another voice in the background. It could have been her dad, but she wasn't sure. Scott continued. "I have to go. Wish us luck."
Allison looked at the phone for a few seconds after Scott hung up. She wasn't sure what to think. He hadn't really revealed much. She had no idea where they were or if they had to fight to free Derek. She wished she knew more, especially when she got startled from hearing Stiles' voice. "Tell me what? About Derek? What?"
He still had his head on the mattress, but now his face was turned towards Allison. He looked strangely at ease, as if he'd given up already. She tried to act as if she didn't know what he was talking about, but then Stiles lifted his head and furrowed his brows. "Just tell me. I can take it."
With a sigh, she lifted the chair and moved closer to the bed. She grabbed Stiles' hand. "They found him – Derek – they are trying to... He is... They think he is captured and locked up." Allison expected Stiles to freak out from the revelation, but instead he just smiled and relaxed against the bed again. "He didn't just leave me then? He's been imprisoned."
Allison nodded and squeezed Stiles' hand. "Yeah. I'm sure he would have been here with you if he could."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The old house stood there just like he remembered it. The place was buzzing with life and a scent of fresh baked cookies came from the open kitchen window. A young girl was shouting for help with her homework. She would get the help, but not before she'd been reprimanded for being so loud.
In the sandbox on the side of the house, a toddler was trying to build a sandcastle. It didn't go very well, but she was laughing every time the sand trickled down the sides of the pyramid-like construction. A man was watching her and even if he didn't emit a sound, one could see that he was chuckling silently.
It was a blissful scene, but Derek didn't feel comfortable with it. He knew it was childhood memories, and it was somewhat haunting, but he wanted to stay in this lucid dreamlike state.
He could hear his father's voice calling his name, but when he turned to face him, he could see only darkness. "Derek, Derek, where are you?" The voice didn't sound like his dad's anymore. He wasn't even sure if he could remember his voice clearly. It appeared to come from the inside of the house, and suddenly Derek was in the basement watching his family huddled together.
"DEREK!" He knew that voice, but was at first not able to put a face to it. Another sound reached his ear. Someone came running towards him. He had to open his eyes, but couldn't still not see anything.
A clang on the bars of his cage woke him up completely, and he recognized one of Hester's boys looking at him. A commotion followed and in the dim light, Derek could see a body practically coming flying down the stairs. He landed with a thump, but managed to get up quickly. He turned to the cage and screamed. "Kill him Alex! Kill him!"
The boy next to the cage – obviously Alex – lifted a gun and aimed it at Derek. Derek scooted backwards and lifted his arms to cover his head, as if it would make a difference. Suddenly, Alex looked down and lowered the gun. He shook his head and scrunched his face as if he was in pain. "I'm not a killer. I can't."
The other one rushed towards him and tried to grab the gun, but Alex did his best to fend him off. Again, Derek heard the familiar voice. "Derek, are you there?" Now he recognized it as Chris', and even if it surprised him, he managed to reply. "Here! In the basement."
Shortly after that, the cavalry arrived. Scott and Isaac were baring their teeth, and growled as the charged towards the two guys fighting over the gun. "They have a gun!" Derek shouted, as he in the corner of his eye saw Chris appear from upstairs.
Alex went down on his knees and clenched the gun in his hand. The other one tried to take it, but Scott was fast and grabbed the guy by his collar and threw him into the bars, making the whole cage shake.
Alex was now aiming the gun at Isaac, but his hands shook so much that when he pressed the trigger, the bullet only grazed Isaac's side. It didn't stop him. Isaac kicked the gun out of the guy's hand before he jumped him and pinned him to the floor. With his arm lifted and his claws out, he was ready to give Alex the final blow.
"Don't kill him!" Scott's voice roared through the dungeon. "We don't have to kill them!" He sounded a little desperate, and he was doing his best to hold a squirming werewolf in his arms. Chris rushed to pick up the gun and after gesturing for Derek to get out of the way, he took a shot at the padlock on the cage. Fragments of the bullet and the shattered lock flew through the room and hit random targets.
A faint 'ouch' came from Isaac as he was hit in the face by one of the projectiles. Alex was now lying still under him, and didn't even try to get up when Isaac lifted his hand to his cheek. The other one was still struggling to get out of Scott's grip, but when Chris aimed the gun at his head, he too calmed down.
With his other hand, Chris removed the rest of the lock an opened the door of the cage. "Hurry, we don't know when she'll be back." He panned the room, and Derek could see that his eyes grew wide. "What is this? Some fancy torture chamber?"
Derek couldn't help the chuckle to escape from his throat. "You can say that, but I think it's more for pleasure than pain." Chris just huffed and walked over to the wall. There were chains with cuffs attached. With the gun still aimed at the guy Scott was holding, he nodded towards the chains. "Get over there, we're gonna spare you, but we have to make sure you don't come after us." The guy knew he was defeated, and walked willingly over to the wall and allowed himself be chained to it.
Alex was a sobbing mess on the floor. Derek didn't know that he had been both cocky and resilient in the basement of the Hale house. He looked at the guy with resentment. Alex stared up at him. "Just kill me." He huffed out between the sobs. "If you don't, she will, and she will take her time."
The four of them looked at him in surprise. Chris stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar, lifting his head off the floor. "I think you deserve it." He let go an looked around. "Let's just tie him up and leave."
They found another padlock, and decided to put Alex in the cage. As he crawled towards it, he turned his head towards Derek. "Take me with you. I'll do whatever you want. I'll be loyal to you." A grunt came from the chained up omega, but Alex didn't even peek over at him. "Please!"
Isaac was standing next to him with his head cocked. "Maybe we should. He's cute, and clearly submissive." The other three stared at Isaac. Derek chuckled. "You want him? I didn't expect that from you. Thought I knew you."
With a huff, Isaac covered his blushing face. "Nooo, I... no. It's just... could be interesting." He turned to Derek and smiled shyly before he with a childlike voice asked: "Oh, please daddy, can I keep him, I've always wanted a pet."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Morning came with new hope for Mr Stilinski's recovery. He was moved to a regular hospital room and most of the tubes and chords were removed. The only one left was a saline drip attached to his hand. It was still fairly early, but both Allison and Stiles were awake and alert.
Allison had got a cryptic message from Scott in the middle of the night. "Taking care of Isaac's new pet. Derek is fine. See you soon." She typed a question mark and sent it, but didn't get a reply. Stiles' phone was dead so he'd begged her to try to call Derek. His phone was obviously dead too, because it went straight to voice mail.
With no real news, they just sat there and watched as the sheriff tried to eat a little. He lifted the toast to his mouth with great effort, but he denied any help. Chewing seemed to be hard work too, so he dropped the toast and reached for the pudding. "I don't care for pudding, but... you know."
Stiles was pacing. Allison knew he was eager to know what had happened during the night. She was too, but managed to stay calm. She wondered if Stiles had touched his medication during the last couple of days, but after the call from Scott last evening, he had been surprisingly relaxed. Now he seemed to be falling apart again, and Allison wasn't sure if there was anything she could do.
"Please son, relax." She sound of Mr Stilinski's tired voice broke the silence. "I'm going to be fine. Everything will be fine." He slumped back to lean on the pillow as if the words had taken all his strength. Stiles turned to him and smiled. "Sure it will. Everything will be fine." Allison could see that he struggled not to cry, and she hurried to change the subject.
"Mr Stilinski. Sorry. Can I get you anything? I'm sure they have other foods here." She pointed to the items on his tray and frowned. "I can go out and get you something more, uh, tasty." The sheriff gave her half a smile. "Thank you Sweetheart, but its' not necessary. I'm really not that hungry." He closed his eyes for a second. "Maybe later."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The decision to bring the guy – Alex – back to Beacon Hills was disputed but when Derek didn't seem to care, Isaac got his will. Chris was sure that he would be a burden, and that this powerful Alpha – Hester – would come after him, giving them all a hard time.
The guy was surprisingly pliable as Chris tied him up with wolfsbane-laced rope. It had to be painful for him, but he didn't even try to fight it. He crawled into the back of the SUV and sat down quietly. He'd struggled a little since he couldn't use his hands, but didn't ask or help.
Scott and Isaac jumped into the back seat, and Derek was riding shot-gun.
If he should take a guess, Chris figured that Alex was in his early twenties, maybe around Derek's age. He could possibly be younger, but it was hard to determine. He was a few inches shorter than his new Alpha, and surprisingly skinny for a werewolf.
Scott was the only one who really tried to argue against this but when nobody else bothered, he just shook his head and sat back. "Isaac's new pet, uh?" He turned to Isaac. ""Why?" When his friend didn't reply, he gave up that conversation also. The ride home went on in silence after that.
Chris was pretty sure that even if Derek was okay with it, he wasn't rejoicing. Chris wondered why he'd even agreed. The old Derek would have killed the guy without hesitation, but now he gave into Isaac's whim with a shrug.
Keeping the two werewolves alive went against Chris' instincts also. He was a hunter, and killing the prey was part of the deal. He'd spent several hours collaborating with two of them to rescue a third. Then he'd been convinced to leave the representatives for their enemy alive.
He spent most of the ride back contemplating on his own priorities. He had no count on how many werewolves he'd killed over the years. Starting out at a very young age, he had never had any regrets. Chris knew that his emotions was partially stunted from leading a life like that. As a young boy he was never allowed to show any hesitation or remorse after sometimes, not only killing the wolves, but also mutilating their corpses.
For some reason, things had changed after moving to Beacon Hills. He'd come there to rid the place of these so called supernatural beings, and now he was in cohort with them. The most surprising part in all this, was that he felt good about not killing the boys in the dungeon. For the first time in his life, he could leave a scene and feel good about himself.
That they brought one of them with was a totally different story. Chris would have been fine leaving the guy to his own fate. That he could be subject to horrible torture and eventually death, was none of their business. Derek must have had a serious lack of judgment when he made the decision.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
She could smell it the moment she walked inside. The scent of human flesh was lingering in the air. She found Troy in the basement, and decided to leave him there for an extended period of time.
Derek and Alex were gone. If she'd bothered to listen to Troy's ranting, she would have known what happened, but Hester was too angry to pay attention. She went outside and howled loudly in frustration.
This was now not only a mission to help a fellow werewolf. This was personal. She would not be able to rest until she'd got her revenge.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Stiles had slept a little in the chair next to the bed. It was slightly more comfortable than the one in the ICU. After the sorry excuse for breakfast, his dad had fallen asleep again. Stiles had eaten the rest of the food, but he was still hungry, and he was going to ask Allison if her offer was still valid.
At the moment, she was in the restroom trying to freshen up a bit. Stiles knew he should do the same, but moving around wasn't easy. It wasn't fun feeling so helpless, He'd been healing well, and would possibly had been able to walk without a limp in a couple of days if he hadn't injured his ankle again.
He hadn't heard a word from Derek. He – and Allison – hadn't heard a word from anybody since that text message in the middle of the night. He wanted to make a call, but was afraid of the disappointment if nobody picked up.
Allison was of the same opinion, and she acted somewhat antsy when she came back to the room. They decided that she would go out to get some food and a half hour later Stiles was sitting by the window waiting for her to come back. It was too early or his favorite fast-food joint to be open, but she'd promised to try to find something that was more tasty than the hospital food.
Stiles must have dozed of, so he didn't hear the door open. The scent of food tickled his nose, and he was about to open his eyes when a familiar voice reached his ear. "Somebody ordered curly-fries." He couldn't believe it. He turned and saw Derek in the doorway. Stiles wanted to jump up and throw himself into his boyfriends arms, but was hindered by the injury.
It didn't matter. Seconds later, Derek had put the food on the table and lifted Stiles from the chair. "I'm so sorry. I will never leave you again."