The Druid

Chapter 5

"You are involved in some weird shit, Hale." Cadence shook her head when she turned to face Peter.

Peter laughed in response. "When am I not? Oh, and I don't care what you do with Stilinski. Just get him here. I don't care if you have to scratch him, bite him, kick him, just do whatever it takes. I'd love to see Derek in a little pain from seeing how helpless he'll be when he couldn't protect his little love interest." He grinned as he drew Cadence into his arms and leaned in to kiss her. "Then we can live here comfortably once we get rid of him and McCall's pack."

Cadence let a prominent smirk rise up on her face and wrapped her arms around Peter's neck. "I like the sound of that." She mused gleefully. "So, kidnap the human. Got it. I'll make sure you're satisfied with what I do with him."

"Good girl." Peter purred and began kissing up Cadence's neck. "I'm looking forward to it."

Stiles sighed as he collapsed onto the sofa with his laptop and some papers. He spread said papers out on the coffee and opened up the device, logging in on it. He brought up a word document and resumed typing. He had been working on an essay for one of his classes at George Washington University and had managed to make some sort of a start on it with the little time he had gotten to himself. However, it was due in a couple of days but that was an easy window to finish it.

Noah came over and sat in his armchair, watching his son with a soft look. "Whatcha working on?" He asked curiously.

"An essay. I started it a little while ago but now I have a chance to actually finish it." Stiles smiled briefly at his dad before continuing to type away.

"That's good. I'm glad you're able to catch up on your homework." Noah smiled more and pulled a book out and began reading.

The Stilinskis settled into a comfortable silence with Stiles' pitter patter of the keys being pressed a relaxing sound to Noah. At some point, it had started to rain which provided more ambience to the quiet living room. No one was away of how much had passed, especially Stiles, when a sudden knock sounded on the front door.

Noah set his book down and got up to answer it. "Derek! What can I do for you?".

"Just here to check up on you and Stiles." Derek smiled back.

"Why don't you come in? I'll get you something to drink. Stiles is in the living room." Noah stood to the side and let Derek in. Derek made his way into the living room as Noah headed to the kitchen and leaned against one of the walls, watching Stiles with a soft smile replacing his usual 'sour' look, as Stiles liked to say. Stiles was clearly in his own world, oblivious to what was happening around him or that someone was observing him.

Noah walked in and handed Derek a glass. "He's finally able to catch up on his work from his courses."

"How is his training going?" Derek asked as he sipped his drink.

"Good! He's excelling in his classes and doing really well overall. He'll be graduating soon, I think."

Derek smiled. "That's good. I'm glad he found something doing what he loves."

Noah smiled. "So, am I." He said softly.

Stiles was blissfully unaware of the talk about him that was occurring, so absorbed in his work that he didn't hear his father calling his name. "... Stiles... Stiles...... Stiles!" His head whipped up towards his father.

"Huh?! What is it?! Did something happen?!" He asked quickly before he saw Derek standing beside Noah. "Oh, hey, Derek." He said sheepishly, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Derek chuckled, an amused smirk on his face. "Hey, Stiles." He greeted the boy before sitting down on the sofa beside him. Noah resumed his position in the armchair.

"What are you doing here? I didn't get left out of another pack meeting, did I?" Stiles asked meekly and shifted a little to face Derek.

Derek shook his head. "No, you didn't, don't worry. I came to strengthen the pack scent."

"Oh, right." Stiles nodded in understanding. "Probably a good idea to get started on it now then." He said and went back to working on his assignment.

"What are you working on?" Derek asked curiously.

"Essay for my investigative crime course. I finally have time to actually work on it now that Scott isn't running me around like a madman."

"That sounds interesting." Derek hummed, looking over Stiles' shoulder and skimmed some of the lines. "How are your other courses?"

"Good! I've had to get some extensions for some things but other than that, I've been keeping on top of things."

"That's good they're being so lenient." Derek smiled.

"Probably because he managed to get himself onto your case and help you get free." Noah chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm still impressed you managed to do that." Derek shook his head in amusement.

Stiles blushed once again and shrugged. "It wasn't that hard. I just pestered and told them I'd be a great help. Now, here you are."

Noah chuckled again. "Always undermining yourself. Gotta take credit, Stiles."

Stiles' blush became a little more prominent and shrugged again before he redirected himself back to his essay. As all three men settled into a peaceful silence, Noah encouraged Derek to peruse the bookshelf and select a book to keep himself busy, knowing the wolf liked to read. Derek was extremely grateful for the small gesture.