Chapter 11
Kenzi preceded the werewolf detective out the front door. Once she reached the far side of the front porch out of sight of the front window she turned to face him. "Ok why are you here Dyson?" she asked baldly. The Goth expected a great many things but not the question she got.
"How well do you know this Stiles?" Dyson asked and for a second the she wolf didn't know how to respond. Then the anger came and she knew exactly how to respond.
"Fuck you, wolf man." and tried to walk around him to go back into the house.
"Hey I thought you were Team Dyson," he said catching her by the shoulders and pushing her back in front of him.
"I was." Kenzi admitted, "Until my friend started acting like a total douche bagging idiot." She tried getting around him again until he held her in place again.
The werewolf female then said with a soft hiss, "Who he is, how well I know him and anything else is not really any of your business, detective. Even if it was, he's a little out of your jurisdiction. Hell, you're a little out of your jurisdiction, aren't you, Dyson? And I'll ask again, why are you here?"
Dyson suddenly acted like he's been burned as he stepped back and gave the younger woman a wounded look but said nothing. The Goth merely hummed and said, "Yeah that's what I thought," as she walked around him again and this time made it to the door before he spoke.
His voice so quiet, she nearly missed it. Still to her it sounded nothing more than a mumble and she asked, "What did you say"
"I said I asked the Ashe for time off," Dyson repeated as he turned to face her looking a bit sheepish.
"Ok," she said drawing the word out again, "And?"
"He asked me why I needed the time off," Dyson tried to explain.
Kenzi's muttered, "Clear as mud," told him he hadn't succeeded at all. "And why did you need the time off," she asked playing along although it was clear she was getting frustrated with this twenty questions method of gaining information from the other werewolf.
"I told him it was time for me to find my mate," the werewolf explained and she noticed a slight hint of brogue was entering the others voice as he spoke. A flash of pain crossed her face but she composed herself and her eyes scrunched in confusion as she considered.
"And you're here because?" she said a little waspishly. Dyson though he had completely missed the fact that Kenzi was a werewolf, Did pick up on the hints of pain, jealousy, and desire.
"Why do you think I'm here?" Dyson asked.
"I don't know," Kenzi exploded, her energy diverted immediately to pacing the length of the porch.. Her frustration getting the better of her as she raised her voice to say, "Maybe to ask me to yours and Bo's wedding, hand fasting, or whatever. Or maybe to get my help to ask her. Or maybe you're here to ask me to make sure she and Lauren are quits before you actually ask her. How should I know Dyson?"
His hands were on her shoulders again, pulling her around to face him. "Maybe you should know because you're my best friend, and have been even when we fought. Maybe you should know when you've known what I felt even when I couldn't feel anything. Maybe you should know because you're the smartest person I know, outside of Trick and you may even have him beat."
When she would have looked away he lifted her chin with his thumb and forefinger. "Maybe you should know because I told the Ashe I was seeking my Mate and I came here, after you McKenza Hale. Even when I didn't know you were a werewolf too." He lowered his head and gently touched their lips together.
A gentle introduction that soon deepened into a more intimate kiss. A meeting of tongues, of flavors, of souls as each of them felt their hearts flutter, then pound. Their scents mingled, as he pulled her closer, flush with his own body.
~O~
The smack of a magazine across his scowling face broke the Alpha's concentration and oddly enough had him sneeze at the same time. Derek stared at the Spark with a wounded expression. Stiles only shook the rolled up magazine at the werewolf before he reminded him, "I warned you. No listening in. Next time I will actually add a bit of Spark to it." He indicated the stool that the Alpha had stood up from to lean toward the front door as he concentrated, and said in a commanding voice, "Sit." The older man sat obediently.
"I'm fixing dinner you are all three staying and you will not interfere or comment on whatever is happening on the front porch right now. Do I make myself clear?"
"Do you know what's going on out there?" Derek questioned the younger man.
"No but I can guess, that Dyson fellow is clearly mopey over your sister and I could tell she was running away from something when I first met her, so yeah I can guess. She's a grown up Derek time to start treating her like one." the Spark said as he began moving around the kitchen pulling ingredients out for a large dinner.
"But we don't know anything about him," Derek said in a complaining tone.
"I didn't know anything about you before a couple of years ago. I know he followed her here, when I know she didn't actually invite him so apparently he figured out on his own where she was or tracked her here by werewolf senses. Either way its gotta mean something for a werewolf to do that, right?" the teen asked without bothering to look back at the Alpha.
"I don't know, according to what they were talking about it's been going on for a while. Them getting to know each other I mean only he's just getting around to admitting it," Derek explained.
He heard Stiles slam something down and looked up to see the teen glaring at him and Derek said, "Not listening now," he said hands raised defensively, "Heard it before you stopped me." The Spark only looked slightly mollified as he went back to preparing dinner.
They both heard buzzing and Derek picked up Stiles phone and brought it over to him. They both saw the call was from Stiles dad and seeing how the Spark's hands were a little occupied, Derek answered the phone and put it on speaker for the teen. Stiles mouthed, "Thanks" to the Alpha then said, "Hey dad, what's up?"
"Are you at home" the Sheriff asked a little desperately.
"Yeah I'm fixing dinner," even through the phone they could hear his sigh of relief, "Dad what's up?" There was muffled noises and Stiles imagined his father had the phone receiver covered with his hand as he spoke to someone on the other end. "Dad?" Stiles called clearly becoming concerned.
"I want to tell Parrish what's going on," his father said coming back on the line. Stiles froze mid-motion looking over his shoulder at Derek. The Alpha merely nodded other than Stiles, the Sheriff had to be the only other human he trusted as much in the entire town, including Deaton.
Stiles looked at what he was doing and calculating quickly said, "Bring him home dad. I'm making dinner so no take out. He then glanced up at the clock and added, "If I put my line crew to work helping me, we should be ready in about forty-five minutes."
"Line crew?" the Sheriff asked.
"Yeah we're having quite a bit of company for dinner. Might as well work for their supper right. Don't be late I don't want my noodles to turn to mush." The Spark pressed the end call button with his pinkie.
Stiles then set his knife down and turned to find the Alpha in his personal space. Before he could say anything, Derek asked, "How did you know?"
"Huh?" Stiles asked eloquently. Not wanting to admit the proximity of the older man was doing things to his state of brain function.
"How did you know, he followed her here?" Derek asked noticing the heightened color in the usually pale humans face.
"Oh that, she was surprised, totally surprised to see him. You didn't notice?"
Stiles asked.
"I was occupied with other things." Derek said studying Stiles face.
"Oh yeah, Cora," Stiles said doing a sort of limited face/palm as Derek was sort of in his way. Squeezing along the counter he reached into a cabinet and pulled out an empty spicy jar, small, angular glass with a brown plastic lid. Inside was a milky liquid, when he clicked it on the counter beside Derek a spark flew. "Don't tip it too much it's not waterproof and just to be on the safe side she needs to take the whole thing."
He moved back into place to stir and was surprised when Derek turned him back around to give him a full on hug. "Thank you."
Stiles patted him a little awkwardly on the back when what he really wanted to do was climb the man like a tree. "Bad Stiles," he thought, "He doesn't think of you that way, wish he did but he doesn't."
"Ok, so I'm about to really make you happy." Derek's eyes looked hopeful and warm. "Go break up the happy couple and get the rest of my line crew in here."
Stiles was already turning away to stir the sauce before it scorched, so he didn't see the look of disappointment that crossed the Alpha's face. He did notice the slight growl though as he headed for the door.
Nor did he miss the mutter of, "My pleasure." Stiles giggled as he whispered under his breath, "Sorry Kenzi but you gotta give a dog a bone sometimes."
~O~
The Sheriff guided his deputy into his own patrol car, he too was horrified by the scene they had come across. The three kids, two girls and a boy, none of the over sixteen all of them killed in such a gruesome way. The youngest was only thirteen. Jordan was trying to put on a brave face and he had been in combat so he had seen things, but nothing really prepared you for something like this.
It had made up John's mind for him. He had been on the fence about telling his newest deputy about what was really going on in this town. Something apparently at least if Stiles and the Hales were to be believed had been going on for a while. He looked over at the young man in the seat next to him and had the thought that he hoped Stiles hadn't made too much he had a feeling his young deputy wasn't gong to be eating too much for a while.
Then he pulled up in the driveway and knew he didn't really have to worry about the food. Besides his son's Jeep there was a black Camaro, and two motorcycles. He wondered who the one belonged to, thinking the other might be Scott's.
He had heard the younger McCall had gotten one for the summer from money he had made at the vet clinic. He hadn't seen it yet, come to think of it he hadn't seen Scott in a while. Which was very different from almost nightly visits when his mom was working the evening or night shifts at the hospital.
Then he opened the door to organized chaos. Music was blaring, though not as loud as Stiles had been know to do. At least the windows weren't literally rattling in their frames this time. Kenzi Hale was cleaning off the dining room table and setting the stacks of files and paperwork in neat little piles on the sideboard nearby. A tall, slender man with reddish hair was setting the table. Then he seemed to count and called, "Hey Stiles, we need two more chairs."
"One's in the entry and one's upstairs in my room, first door on the left.. Sorry right." his son shouted from the kitchen. Then he heard something he had never heard before a deep throaty chuckle from his kitchen.
Parrish followed him toward the kitchen curiously. As they heard his son apparently respond to the chuckle. "What, I'm more used to people asking me where the bathroom is than where the chairs are. We don't really entertain a lot."
John felt a pang of guilt. His son was right, other than Scott and occasionally Melissa they really hadn't had any company since his wife Claudia had died. Then he heard Kenzi say, "Don't worry I'm pretty sure that's about to change. Oh hi Sheriff."
John watched as Derek looked up from where he was chopping up vegetables presumably for a salad. His son looked around the fridge at him and then back at the clock on the wall and said with a raised eyebrow, "You're early, and he's grey." He said looking past him at his rather pasty faced deputy. Followed on by the buzzer going off on the oven.
"Everyone's an adult here, guns on the hook. Kenzi would you mind getting the bread out and sprinkling it with the cheese. Dyson man take care of the chairs, they don't bite." Stiles said as if directing an army. "So are you off duty or just on lunch"
"Lunch," the Sheriff said and Stiles whistled.
"That bad, huh? So Parrish are you a coffee or soda man?" the teen asked as Derek walked into the dining room and put the salad on the table.
"Either, but water is fine." The deputy said as he looked around at the crowded kitchen and dining room, a little wistfully if he was honest.
"No, no, no and hell no. Bad night, bad case, clearly or you wouldn't look like death warmed over. Still on duty, so sugar and caffeine and lots of it. So I'll ask again, soda or coffee." the teen directed as he drained the noodles.
"Coffee, but if you'll just tell me where…" the deputy offered.
Stiles said bossily, "Nope, no room. Give your order to your gorgeous and talented barista," Kenzi primped, "Derek. He'll fill your order while you and dad go get washed up for dinner. Kenzi bread on the table please. Dy, good timing with the chairs, mind shredding some more Parmesan, while I get the noodles and sauce on the table."
As the Sheriff guided the deputy up the stairs, Jordan said, "Your son's a little bossy, isn't he?"
The Sheriff heard Stiles say, "Derek, dad likes his coffee with two sugars and cream, Kenzi would you mind taking this out to Derek's car. Put it in the cup holder upright." Stiles said as he handed her the small bottle of medicine for Cora, "Dyson we have three rules in this house."
His son finished as his father went out of his human ear shot. "No alcohol while on duty, no shop talk until after dinner, and no freaking out the guest until dad says its cool to do so. Oh yeah and make sure he can't get to his gun when you do it."