𝐓𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐌 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 ➢ ᴅᴇʀᴇᴋ ʜᴀʟᴇ / ᴊᴏʀᴅᴀɴ ᴘᴀʀʀɪꜱʜ

Ch. 23 - ALPHA PACT

"Want to figure something out? Do you get how many people Jennifer has killed? Erica and Boyd are dead. Cora is dying. And you are doing nothing!" Isaac yelled as Aurora walked in after seeing the twins and changing clothes. She leaned against the wall while Isaac looked at Derek with teary eyes. "Why'd you do this to us, Derek? Was it all about the power? Were you bored? Were you lonely?" Isaac asked and Derek shrugged slightly, "Maybe." He said, looking at Isaac

Isaac started to walk away when Derek spoke up, "I told Cora I wouldn't leave. I'll help the others when I figure out how to help her-" He say and Isaac stopped to turn around. "There's no time! The full moon's coming. The Sheriff and Melissa are gonna be dead, so I'm gonna try and help them. You can sit here and perfect the art of doing nothing." Isaac said before starting to walk past Aurora but she grabbed his arm.

"Go help your friends, I'll try to figure something out and if I do, I'll call you." She said and he nodded before walking out. Aurora sighed softly and closed the door before walking over to Derek, wrapping her arms around his shoulders making him grab one of her hands. "Don't take it to personally. Anger is just a tool, he does sometimes. It's common in teens, especially werewolf ones when a full moon is nearing." Aurora said before Peter walked in.

"He's using it to excuse shifting allegiance from one Alpha to another- from you to Scott." He said making them look at him, "Scott's not an Alpha yet." Derek said and Peter raised his eyebrows. "But he's on his way, isn't he?" He asked and Aurora sighed and rolled her eyes slightly while leaning down to rest her chin on the top of Derek's head.

⊚

Cora gasped slightly as Derek took her pain making Peter look over and Aurora looked up from the spell book she was reading. "Careful..." Peter said before Derek let go of Cora's arm, "Don't worry. I know going too far could kill me." Derek said. "That's not exactly what I mean..." Peter said making Derek look at him, "I've heard it's something only Alphas can do, and with good reason." Peter said and Aurora furrowed her brows slightly.

"Which is?" Derek asked, "You know, normal wolves never abandon an injured member of the pack. They care for it. They bring it food from a kill and then regurgitate it into the mouth of the injured wolf. They even give it physical and emotional comfort by intensely grooming it. In a way, they can do more than just ease pain- they can be instrumental in healing their own." Peter said and Derek rolled his eyes.

"If you're trying to tell me I can save her, just tell me." Derek said as he moved to stand next to Aurora, across the table from Peter. "I'm telling you... I heard it's possible." Peter said and Derek raised his eyebrows, "How?" He asked.

"It's that spark of power that makes you an Alpha. When you take her pain, she draws on the power that provides you with those special gifts: the power that heightens your senses, your strength; the power that transforms your body. As an Alpha, you have that bit of extra- that spark intensifies the color of your eyes from a bright yellow into a searing red." Peter explained.

"If I can save her-" Derek started to say but Aurora raised her hand up slightly, "If." She said making him look at her. "He didn't say it works every time. It could easily kill you." She said and Derek glanced between her and Peter, "How do I do it? By taking her pain?" Derek asked making Aurora dramatically sigh and roll her eyes.

"And then some... Because there's a cost." Peter said and Aurora gave him a dirty look, "Why do you always have to have the most dangerous ideas?"

⊚

Derek walked over to Cora but stopped when Aurora grabbed his arm. "I can understand you not seeing any downsides to this, but consider about what else you'd be losing." Aurora said and Derek shook his head, "I don't care about power. Not anymore." He said and she raised her eyebrows.

"What about the power to fight back? Kali's ultimatum still stands- the full moon is tomorrow night. And, you can barely beat her as an Alpha, how the hell do you expect to beat her as a Beta?" Aurora asked and Derek looked at her. "I don't care." He said and she stared at him for a moment.

"Yeah, well I do. For all we know, this could be exactly what Jennifer was hoping for? Maybe she knew the only way for you to save Cora would be giving up your power." Aurora said and Derek furrowed her brows, "Why?" He asked.

"Because between the two of us, you're her best shot. If you don't have your Alpha powers, you have two options. Me or her, we are gonna be the only people with power. And the only option would to go to her because I can't fight her and the Alphas on my own. And she knows that if you go, I go too." Aurora said and Derek stared at her as she shook her head slightly.

"Jennifer needs to have us on her side of the board and your sister is her main pawn."

⊚

Lydia stand in front of the steel door that slides back to reveal Peter. Lydia stared at Peter, both of them surprised to face each other. "You." She said and Peter lifted his head slightly, "Me." He said. "You." Lydia said and Peter sighed, "Me. Derek, Aurora, we have a visitor." Peter called out as he steps back to let her in as Derek and Aurora walked out.

"What is it?" Aurora asked, "I was wondering were the Nemeton is." Lydia said and Derek shrugged slightly. "I have no idea." He said making Lydia furrow her brows, "You don't know where it is? But Stiles said you'd been there." She said and Peter nodded.

"We have. But after a few memorable experiences there, Talia... Derek's mother and my older sister... decided that she didn't ever want us going back. She knew how dangerous it was and took the memory of its location from us." Peter explained making Lydia sigh in frustration

"But then how are we supposed to find it?"

⊚

"It has to be now. I don't have a choice." Derek said as Aurora walked up to him as Cora took painful breaths. "You always have a choice. It just depends on if you can live with the consequences- facing Kali as a Beta." Aurora said and Derek shook his head slightly.

"But it's not just a full moon coming, it's a lunar eclipse. We'll all be powerless except for you." He said and Aurora nodded, "We can figure all of that out later, right now what matters is if you can survive this." Aurora said. She crouched down next to him before grabbing the side of his face making him look at her.

They stared at each other before Aurora leaned up to kiss him. When they pulled away they pressed foreheads together for a moment before Aurora started to stand up. "Bona fortuna." Aurora whispered lowly as she kissed his forehead while her necklace glowed slightly. She stood off to the side and watched nervously as Derek grabbed his sister's hand.

Black veins trailed up his arm making Cora gasp lightly as he continues to take more. He sucked in a deep breath of pain as the veins trailed all the way up in arm before let out loud roar. His bright red eyes faded into a vibrant blue.