Chapter Twelve: Where We Began

With how things were now, Derek marvelled in the days where he and Lyra could just take time and enjoy being together. It felt like the last time they got to enjoy that was their honeymoon.

So, they took a Friday and played hookie from work, both of them calling in sick. The sheriff asked Lyra if she needed anything, which she declined on a thanks, while the school cautioned Derek from returning to work unail he felt better. Their worries stemmed from him spreading his germs to his students.

Derek looked disgruntled as Lyra laughed out loud at that.

"God, you're so gross, Alpha Derek," Lyra chuckled, her eyes gleaming as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You should really get that cough checked out."

"Wanna be my doctor?" Derek asked, digging his fingers into her hips, his chest rumbling with a growl.

Lyra's teasing grin turned wicked before she pulled him down for a kiss.

Ooo0ooO

They drove a little ways, wanting to get out of town, even if it was just for the afternoon. Lyra sang obnoxiously along with the radio and Derek just smiled at her. She wore a pair of faded cut offs that stopped at the top of her thighs, riding up high enough to show her dark triskelion tattoo. Topped with a loose burgundy shirt, Lyra looked comfortable, all the way down to her oldest boots.

Lyra smiled back at Derek, and even though his aviators reflected herself, she knew his green eyes were looking into hers. He wore an old, paint splattered shirt he had used when they had been redoing the Hale house, and even older jeans and boots.

"Do you think we'll get in trouble if someone finds out we're playing hookie?" Lyra asked.

"We'll just set them straight if they try," Derek said tunelessly, tugging down his glasses to show his gleaming blue eyes.

Lyra laughed. "Because that works so well for us."

Derek smiled and pushed the aviators back up his nose. "It's an untested theory."

"Well let's hold off on that experiment, Einstein," Lyra teased.

Ooo0ooO

Lyra always heard that sometimes you find something when you stop looking for it. She guessed she was surprised when her and Derek stumbled across what they did, because she didn't know she was looking for it until now.

Along a local hiking trail, Lyra and Derek had wandered slowly under the warmth of the sun hand in hand, enjoying the quiet and smells of nature.

Then they had climbed over a small peak and Lyra gasped.

Nestled along the golden foothills sat a lake, with deep blue, rippling waters that pulsed against the sandy shores. Surrounded by the hills on one side and the forest on the other, it was secluded, quiet, and to Lyra, perfect.

She felt that pull in her gut, like she had when she first found her way into Beacon Hills, a sort of familiar feeling.

So she reached for Derek's hand and pulled him down the hill, so they could stand on the shore. Her eyes devoured the scenery, from the deep blue of the water, the rich green of the nearby forest, and she enjoyed the smell of the pine trees and the wildflowers.

"Wow," Derek murmured at her side.

"Yeah. Wow."

Ooo0ooO

They spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the grass right by the lake, lying down side by side as the clouds rolled overhead. They talked and shared stories, but mostly, they laughed.

Lyra sat up so her and Derek could face each other. She grabbed his hand and began tracing a finger over the lines on his palm.

"What does it say about my future?" Derek asked teasingly.

Lyra pretended to consider, looking closely. "Well, this says you'll live a long life," she said, tracing over the line that bisected his hand. Her lips twitched, since she was making it up as she went. "And these? You'll find love... so you can check that off," she said with a smirk.

Derek watched her, with that shirt slipping off her smooth shoulder and hair tumbling over her shoulders in honey eaves. Her eyes laughed at him and her lips were bowed into a smile, and he knew the warmth he felt wasn't because of the sun. It was because of her.

"Lyra?"

She looked up to meet his gaze, her violet eyes warm and full of love. "Yeah?"

Derek opened his mouth, then closed it. How could he say what he felt? It was so much, but it wasn't overwhelming. It was love and happiness and peace, it was everything he thought he would never feel so much again. She knew how to make him laugh again and God, she could make him laugh. He could only smile when she was around and it was not just because he loved her and he wanted her. She knew him better than anyone else.

He smiled, reaching up to brush the hair from her eyes. "I love you."

Those lovely eyes melted into a deeper shade, but her smile did not fade. She reached up and covered his hand with her own, squeezing it. "I'll always love you, Alpha Derek."

Ooo0ooO

Later, as the sun was setting, Derek and Lyra laid back to watch as the sky began to change colors. They held hands in the grass, which tickled their bare arms.

"What did you want to be when you grew up?"

"Cop," Derek said.

Lyra gave him a curious look. "What stopped you? Because, you know, being a werewolf."

"You stole the job," Derek said, deadpanning.

Lyra snorted and smacked his chest.

Derek chuckled, before exhaling deeply. "I don't know. I remember when I told my older sister, Laura. She was so excited and so encouraging... I guess after she died, I lost any motivation I had. Then everything got complicated because of my uncle and him giving the bite to Scott..."

Lyra nodded. "Everything changed."

"Everything worked out," Derek agreed, before grimacing. "For the most part." Then he turned his green eyes to her. "What about you?"

Lyra's lips curved. "All I wanted was to be my dad's Beta. I worked so hard, I trained everyday with the pack's Beta, I studied our family history and other texts about werewolves... And then..."

"Everything changed," Derek finished softly.

Lyra looked at him again. "Would you change it? Any of it?"

"Parts of it, maybe," Derek said truthfully. "But overall... No."

"Even if that meant having your family again?"

Derek's green eyes were dark when they gazed into hers. "I think they would be happy that I'm happy. Don't you?"

Lyra remembered her sweet and loving father, and her smart and strong mother. She had only had them for a little longer than Derek had had his family, but even now, she knew one thing, Derek was right. They would be happy, because she was happy.

"I think they would tell me everything worked out how it was supposed to," she whispered, moving closer to Derek's side. "I think they would tell me that no matter what, they will always love me, no matter where they are." She smiled at him. "And I think your mom and sister would say the same thing."

Derek pushed his forehead against hers, exhaling again. "I never thought that I would be this happy again."

"Me neither," Lyra murmured. She laughed, but it was wet from the tears in her eyes. "You're my best friend, Derek."

Derek pulled her close, their foreheads touching, breaths mingling. "You're my best friend, Ly."

Ooo0ooO

And as they returned to Beacon Hills, Lyra slept quietly in the passenger seat, her head cradled in her arm. Derek kept the radio turned down and the windows rolled down, allowing the sweet and sharp smells from the woods to roll in.

Lyra dreamt of the same thing again; of dandelion seeds drifting in the wind, only to take root in the dark earth, of a black wolf with both green and red eyes, and of a swirling triskelion, all in the same order, and all leaving her with the same feeling as she woke up to find Derek carrying her upstairs to their room in the Hale house.

Anticipation.

But that feeling faded away as she felt Derek gently pull the boots from her tired feet. She smiled when he kissed her bent knee, because she knew he knew she was awake once more.

So she opened her eyes and her arms, pulling him close before their lips met. The moon rose slowly, nearly full once more, as they melted into one another.

These were one of the times where the fire between them sparked and burned, but they did not rush. This was one of those times where it felt like it was just them and the night sky, and there was nothing else.

Clothes were removed with unhurried fingers and were tossed into heaps on the floor. Instead of breathless moans and sharp cries, the room filled with whispers and soft sighs. At one point, the radio had been flipped on, so low music would drown out their noises and the rest of the outside world.

Lyra wished she could remember the song that had played, with the weep of violins and the way she could see fingers deftly skipping over piano keys, but she was lost in the warm and safe bubble that her and Derek were in.

Her fingers brushed over the triskelion tattoo that rested between Derek's shoulder blades, and his touched the matching one on her thigh, before sliding up into her warmth.

The world tilted and colors sharpened as Derek stroked her, and Lyra held onto him like she would float away if she let go. She wanted to close her eyes but instead looking into those green eyes, counting the amber dots inside them, and she fell apart against his insistent fingers, calling out his name to join her.

So Derek merged his body with hers, moaning at the feeling of becoming enveloped by her silky heat. He rested his forehead against hers and murmured her name before they climbed up high, as the moon did, until the sun began to rise and they found their last release.

The sun was peeking its golden rays over the horizon when Derek and Lyra finally fell asleep. Lyra pressed her forehead against his chest as their legs stayed intertwined, before she sighed and placed her cheek over his heart, falling into a deep sleep to its steady beat.

Ooo0ooO

As Derek and Lyra slept, the woods around Beacon Hills suddenly woke up to the sound of hundreds of birds taking off from the trees, startled by the sudden movements from the forest floor below.

A group of men and women, each with glowing eyes, followed the man who had taken the lead.

Peter kept his hands in his pockets, an arrogant smile crossing his face. He came to a stop, standing at the peak that overlooked the town. His eyes lingered where he knew the Hale house stood before he refocused his gaze elsewhere.

"Is it time?" Cyrus asked him.

Peter smirked again. "Almost. Let's start by sending them a proper 'hello', shall we?" He turned as two burly wolves dragged their captive forward.

A pair of ice blue eyes spat at Peter, only because they were gagged.

"Aw, don't give me that look," Peter said. "You were the one who showed up fashionably late." Peter stepped closer, sneering. "Ready to see your ex one last time, Matty?"

Matt glared at Peter, struggling against the hold the stronger wolves had on him.

"You're right, how rude. She won't care about you. She'll care about poor Isaac." The former Alpha casted a impassive look towards the younger Beta, who sported a bleeding wound on his head as he laid unconscious at Cyrus's feet.

"Then again," Peter said dramatically. "She does love him more than you."

Matt ignored him. He caused his eyes towards the direction of the Hale house, hoping and praying that Lyra wouldn't take the bait. But he knew Lyra better than that. That was why she had those words about sacrifice tattooed on her forearm. She always put who she loved before herself.

Matt closed his eyes briefly.

And miles away, Lyra's snapped open.

Ooo0ooO

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf.

Author's Note: I needed some more fluff. Howwver, things are going to take a turn... Hold on tight!

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