Imprinted [Sterek]

Chapter 15

Derek awoke some hours later in the living room of Stiles cabin. He took a look around, finding Stiles asleep on the couch, his face stained with tears. Derek let out a quiet whine at sight; he did that, he did that to his mate. There was a shift from the other side of the room and saw Scott staring him down. It was evident that he wasn't happy.

"Come on," Scott said, slowly walking to the kitchen. Derek moved his leg feeling that he could move it, but it probably wasn't smart to put too much pressure on it just yet. Derek slowly stood to three legs holding his right hind leg up as well as he could, only to put it down for a couple of seconds. He came to the back door where Scott stood waiting for him.

"We need to talk." He knew Derek's secret. Did Stiles know as well?

Derek followed Scott out the back door when he sat on the porch swing with a blanket in hand. Derek gave it a questioning look before knowing what Scott wanted from him. Derek shook his head backing away from him; he couldn't risk Stiles seeing him yet. "He's not going to wake up and see you. Trust me. You've been out for a day; he stayed awake the whole time, I had to slip one of his sleeping pills into his water for him to finally pass out." Scott sighed, running a hand through his hair. He hated having to do that to his best friend, but Stiles was already bad enough with his ADHD, he didn't need to be sleep deprived on top of it.

Derek slowly took the blanket from Scott's arms and walked off of the porch out of his sight and gradually changed back into a human. He took a deep breath standing on his two legs running a hand through his hair. It hadn't grown much in the time Derek was in his wolf, not knowing if it would or not. He hissed a little feeling the pain in his leg, and he slowly walked onto the porch and took a seat next to Scott.

"Derek Hale, haven't seen your face in a long time." Scott chuckled. Derek looked at him for a minute, slowly a younger version of Scott stood in front of him standing next to his younger sister Cora at one of her birthday parties. He was just now putting it together; he remembers Stiles as well; it makes sense why he was so comfortable around Stiles when he took refuge on the porch. He knew the scent even if he couldn't remember it.

"I-" Derek had to think about his words, his voice, everything he hadn't been human in a long time.

"I'll start, what are you doing? Why are you out here? Why are you not back in Beacon Hills with your family?" Scott asked, showing that he was upset. "Why would you not just show yourself to Stiles?"

"Why do you think? He doesn't know anything about the supernatural! I didn't think you did when I first met you until I smelt Deaton on you and I thought that there was a chance you did. What do you mean not with my family? My family is dead, Scott. They have been for months; I watched them die with my own eyes." Derek was so confused and scared right now.

"No, they aren't, Derek, they've been home for months. They all told us that you went missing, they've been looking for you! There's been a nationwide search at this point; Stiles' dad has been working nonstop to help find you." Derek looked at Scott in shock; it's not possible.

"No way, I watched them die. We were meeting a pack that my mother wanted to make a treaty with, they had other plans and attacked, we were overpowered." Derek sobbed into his hands. Does this mean he abandoned his family? No, his mother told him to run before she was attacked. He was following orders.

"Derek, that doesn't matter right now. What matters is you need to tell me what is going on with Stiles. I have an idea, but I need to hear it from you." Scott looked Derek dead in the eyes. "I can't help until you do."

"I-I've been running for months, trying to make it home, I kept getting lost. Every time I figured out where I was, I would get turned another way and become lost all over again. I ended up here a couple of weeks ago. I've been trying to build my strength back up; I was down at the lake getting a drink when these kids came out of nowhere and shot at me. I ran into the woods, and I ended up here trying to hide from anyone who could be looking for me. I was in fight or flight mode. I chose the flight and ran for my life, hiding here. I didn't even know it was Stiles; I was on autopilot." Derek looked into the cabin from the porch swing; Stiles was still sleeping on the couch. He messed up this time. "I truly didn't know who he was until just now looking at you. I now understand why I trusted him so easily. Well, besides..."

"Besides what Derek?" Scott asked, looking into the cabin himself watching Stiles roll over.

"Besides the fact that I could feel that he was my mate. I knew it the second my eyes flashed at him without me thinking about it." Derek sighed, running a hand through his hair. How was he ever going to get out of this? How was he going to tell Stiles?

"That's what I thought. You have to tell Stiles." Scott said, grabbing Derek's shoulders.

"I can't. It will crush him. You need to help me out here, Scott, fake my- Betas death. Anything Scott. Get me back to Beacon Hills, and I'll find him there and tell him then. Please, Scott." Derek pleaded with the younger boy. The tears were beginning to fall, and Scott shook his head.

"I can't do that to him. It would hurt him more than you just telling him. He's been through enough; it's not like he's normal." Scott looked down to the lake, watching the moon mirror itself in it.

"What do you mean?" Derek was now worried about his mate; this couldn't be good.

"Stiles is he was attacked by a werewolf when he was young." Derek's eyes grew wide as Scott let those words slip out of his mouth.

"What? You're kidding, is he a werewolf then? What is he?" Derek couldn't sense anything supernatural about his mate what-so-ever.

"No. He's perfectly normal in that sense. Let me explain what his mother told me." Scott sighed, looking back at Stiles again.