Chapter Text
Derek was at a loss, so much had happened in the last few days. As he left Eichen House he was reminded of how much the place had spooked him as a child. He had been sure back then there was more to it than a straight-forward mental institution. Now his uncle was going to find out. As if on cue a howl rose from within the building. Miserable, angry but mostly fearful, it shivered down Derek’s spine and he had to steel himself not to howl in reply, to offer some kind of comfort. A pack instinct. He knew Peter only had himself to blame for his current predicament and had done so much harm but there were so few Hales left and pack was important.
The conversation he’d had with Chris Argent about Kate sprang to mind - ‘Some sort of werewolf prison?’ ‘Something like that.’ He’d find out, maybe get Stiles to help.
But Kate was still at large and that worried him, he wished it had been her he’d just left inside, instead of his uncle. But Chris and the hunters were on her trail so there was at least some hope she’d be stopped soon. Some small part of him wished he had killed her but Scott was right, there had been too many deaths already. He was glad not to have it on his conscience and it was a relief his fear of her had subsided. But what now? How did he fit into Scotts pack? Was he even part of the pack?
He headed back to the loft and sent a quick text to Stiles, pack still at the forefront of his mind. He wanted to know they were all safe and he hadn’t heard about Lydia and the other kid, Liam’s friend, yet. It was obvious now that Lydia had been trapped at the school to stop her from identifying Scott as a berserker.
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He pulled up outside the building site that was once the Hale house. Waves of sadness crashing over him, the loss once again swamping him. He leant against the car and just let the feeling wash over him, remembering each of those he had lost. After a few minutes he straightened and took a deep breath. It wouldn’t do to wallow, he knew, he’d done that.
Stripping off, he folded his clothes and left them just underneath the rear of the car. It didn’t look like rain; he hadn’t checked, his wolf wouldn’t care, but it would be good to have dry clothes to change back into. He’d not done this since the first time, at the church, but he had no real doubts, he was his mother’s son after all. He stretched his neck bringing on the shift and slipped surprisingly easily into the shape of his wolf. It felt good, so good, tension dropped away and an easy comfort settled in its place. He sniffed the air and bounded off into the safety of the trees.
It was nearly dark as he returned to the car, he must have been running for hours. He’d crossed the whole territory and had found nothing untoward. He knew it was unlikely to remain quiet for long but it would be good if the pack could catch its breath before the next, inevitable onslaught.
He slowed to a walk as he approached his car, another vehicle was parked next to it but it only took him a moment to recognise it as the jeep. Especially as Stiles was sitting on the hood, wrapped in a large blanket. He must have heard Derek’s approach because he started talking before the wolf came into view.
“Where the hell have you been, I’ve been calling… Shit! Derek?”
Stiles tried to shuffle away, to put some distance between himself and the approaching beast but Derek caught his foot in his mouth and pulled him to the ground.
“Hey, oi, I’m fragile y’know” Stiles grumbled but by then he had Derek’s muzzle shoved up against his neck, snuffling.
“Hey, wolfie, stop it, dude!”
He was flat on his back now with the huge black wolf pinning him with a paw to his chest breathing him in. He pushed his hands into the fur trying to get a purchase so he could push him away but the wolf just paused, then licked once, all the way up the side of his face and trotted off to the back of his car to retrieve his clothes.
As Derek emerged doing up his shirt, Stiles was still on the ground his blanket pulled over him. He reached down offering to help him up but Stiles just stared at him open mouthed.
“You didn’t see me in Mexico then?” Derek scuffed his feet uncomfortably, “I thought you had… I er… sorry I didn’t mean to…”
“What?” Stiles snapped back. “Scare me! Well you did and I’ve got bruises and what was all that snuffling and sniffing about, jeez Derek! They told me you’d gone full wolf but somehow I thought, y’know you’d got your powers back and gone alpha-werewolf or something not… that!”
“Yeah, my mum could do it but…”
The conversation faltered but the atmosphere wasn’t entirely uncomfortable so Derek sat down and Stiles shuffled into a sitting position too. Neither of them spoke for a while and then they both did.
“I thought…” Stiles started.
“You said..” Derek spoke over him.
They both fell silent again until Stiles said, “You go first.”
“Er… ok, I,umm… you said you rang me.”
“Oh, yeah. You asked about Lydia and Mason, so I tried to call you. I wanted to know about Peter and Eichen House and stuff and that you were ok.”
“Me?”
“Well yeah, I was pretty sure you were gonna die… and...” Stiles faded off again.
“So was I”, Derek added quietly and Stiles stared at him again, not sure what to think.
After a moment he cleared his throat and started again. “So, yeah Lydia, yeah she’s ok, a bit bruised and battered but nothing too bad, erm, Mason too, I think. They got thrown about a bit but I think it just wanted to keep them there, not kill them. Ah man! Dad was badass though, he threw that mine The Mute planted at the school. Just threw it to the berserker and shouted catch and the freakin’ thing did and it blew him to pieces.”
Stiles sniggered a bit at the scene he’d described and Derek smiled slightly and huffed, “Recklessness runs in the family then.”
Stiles swatted at him in response.
“I better get back,” Stiles suggested a few minutes later, “or that badass sheriff will be on my case, not that he isn't already. You know he handcuffed me to his desk at the Sheriffs Office when I got back and took Malia for pizza.”
Derek’s eyebrows shot up and then he smiled, “How long it take you to get out of them?”
Stiles smiled too, “Under a minute - I’ve got this neat little pick I keep handy.”
Still smiling they moved towards their cars. “You looked beautiful,” Stiles said, almost to himself.
Derek gave him a confused look, “Stiles?”
“Your wolf man, your wolf,” he replied as he quickly clambered into the jeep trying hard not to blush.
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