Derek's chest heaved as he slowed down, his mate clinging to his front with everything she had, nails biting into the flesh at his shoulder.
He turned backward, slowing to a jog as he looked to see if they were being followed.
"She saw me. She saw me, Derek." Ellie spoke as she pulled back to look up at him. Her eyes were wide and expressive. She had dried tears on her cheeks and his gaze hardened. Kate had terrified Ellie so much that she had cried. He would make that woman pay.
Derek gazed down at her as he tried to catch his breath. He adjusted his hold and lifted her up slightly so she could bury her face into his neck for comfort.
His arms tightened, and he took off once more. They needed a pack meeting. They needed it now.
"Where's your father?" Derek asked as they made their way upstairs. They both needed Peter's comfort right now.
It was getting dark. It had taken them a long time to get back home on foot. They'd have to go back for the camaro. No way would she let it stay out there.
She pulled her phone from her pocket and frowned down at it. Her dad hadn't answered her SOS. she opened her messages and pouted. The message had a red 'X' next to it. There hadn't been any service to send it. Shit.
"Parent teacher conferences are tonight. He's probably at the school. He should be home soon."
"You were hit by a car!? Dad! You should be at the hospital!" Ellie berated her father as she placed the last butterfly stitch to his temple.
"I'm fine. Just a couple bruises and scrapes. You guys needed me more. I just wanted to get home. Now what happened today. You were vague over the phone." Noah waved away their concern.
Ellie sighed and looked over to Derek, who was helping Peter down onto the couch. They had gathered in the living room for this meeting.
"Kate and a few hunters attacked us while we were at the old house for Derek's stuff." Ellie said and Stiles moved forward to help their dad to his feet. He waved them both away.
"But you two are okay?" He asked in worry. Ellie gave a curt nod. "Derek was electrocuted a few times, but no major injuries. I wasn't even touched."
Noah sighed and leaned back into the recliner. "And you, Stiles? You said you found something?"
Stiles nodded rapidly. "Scott and I stopped by to see Lydia after school, to make sure she was alright. Her mom had her doped up so she could relax. We did some digging. She's loose lipped when high apparently." He reached into his front pocket and scrolled through before tossing his phone to his dad.
"She was taking pictures when she and Jackson were attacked. She got a rough photo of the alpha." Stiles' throat bobbed as he swallowed.
Noah glanced up at his son before looking down at the blurry beast with red glowing eyes.
Scott finally spoke up from his position against the wall, having been deep in thought. "Lydia is absolutely terrified. We erased all evidence from her phone after sending ourselves the photo."
Peter spoke up the second the last word left Scott's lips, shocking everyone in the room.
"Good. We need to keep this hush until we find and take care of the alpha." Ellie was at Peter's side instantly, her smile wide as she threw her arms around his shoulders.
"Papa! Oh god, I am so glad you are getting better!" She gushed, tears in her eyes as she laughed happily.
His arms came up around her and held her tightly. This girl right here in his arms, was the reason he was here and sane. She had done what no one else had even thought of doing. Just being around him, caring for him in his time of need.
"I have you to thank for that, Ellie. Without you, I would still be feral and killing people. I'd still be under that woman's control." He whispered out, eyes closed as he basked in her warmth.
She pulled back but stayed by his side, not wanting to leave him quite yet.
Everyone moved closer, wanting to be near their alpha. Happiness filled the room to the brim, causing Derek to smile slightly. This was what he had wanted and needed for so long. To have a family again.
"What are we going to do about Kate?" Ellie asked quietly.
"Everything we can to pin her crimes against her." Noah spoke firmly. He hated that woman. She needed to pay.
"She went against the code of her family, and by the laws of the council, I can enact any punishment I wish against her for her crimes against our pack." Peter spoke as he looked around the room.
Noah nodded. "She deserves worse than death."
Stiles frowned. "I've been digging. I think we should contact some nearby packs. I... I don't think the Hales were her only victims. I've found several fake identities of hers, all for teaching at schools across a few states."
Noah shot Stiles a look. "Did you hack into the police data vase again?" At Stiles' sheepish, guilty look, he heaved a sigh. "Of course, you did."
Peter frowned. "You believe she's been seducing young members of different packs?"
Stiles gave a firm nod. "In each town she taught in, a family had been completely wiped out by a fire. The same exact way as to what happened to your family. I believe each of those families were a pack of wolves."
Peter and Derek both let out loud growls that had Scott on edge.
"Then she deserves what is coming to her. I'll reach out. See if any of my contacts can find out anything." Peter growled.
Later that night, Ellie sat on her bed gazing at her newest painting. The painting made her feel sad. She wanted to know what she had seen and know why she had felt compelled to paint it out.
She turned her head and gazed at the canvases her dad had ordered for her. They had come in this morning. She had the urge to draw again.
She got up and pulled out her easel from her closet. She placed a large canvas on it, grabbed her paints and a glass of water from the hallway bathroom and began to work.
An hour later, she heard footsteps behind her but didn't look up. She felt the bed dip and she paused as a warm, solid body settled in behind her.
She leaned back and got comfortable. She felt Derek fumble around for a moment with the blankets and pillows as he made himself a makeshift back rest.
She continued paining as he stilled, arms coming to rest over her belly, fingers gently stroking the fabric of her shirt.
She smiled softly. He just wanted to be near her, even if all of her attention "cough" most "cough", was on her painting.
His chin came to rest against her shoulder and his nose turned to bury itself into the skin of her neck, inhaling her scent, relaxing more into the blankets and pillows behind him.
"Do you think we can kill this alpha and take care of Kate?" She asked softly as she began working on the pale pink flower petals.
She was working on a large cherry tree, its flowers in full bloom.
There was a large, clear blue lake behind the tree and the grass was a vibrance of mixed shades of green.
"Our pack is increasing in strength daily. We will win this." He spoke firmly, lips grazing her neck as he spoke.
She smiled sadly. "You talk like we are fighting a war..." She trailed off. "I guess, in a way, we are... Aren't we."
They were silent once more as she worked, completely content to just bask in each other's company. Two hours later, well past midnight, she set the brush into the water and gazed at her work.
The last bit of the painting she had finished was a shadow of two people holding hands, standing just out of sight, cast onto the grass in front of the cherry tree.
She smiled at it and leaned back fully into Derek's arms. She sighed happily and the sudden events of the day caught up to her. She was exhausted.
Derek helped her clean up before helping her get ready for bed. He fixed the bed as she got changed in the bathroom.
She slid into the warm bed and curled up against him as he laid on his back, her head resting where his shoulder and arm connected. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and nuzzled his chin before settling down and closing her eyes.
Derek smiled, closed his eyes, and relaxed fully into the bed.