Changing Patterns

• 34 •

    "We always assumed she made it out like Peter, but someone actually saved her, brought her to the police station and put her in the system." Derek crouched to place the pan down while stiles leaned back and grabbed the primer paint and sealant.

    "Who?" Stiles sat besides Derek offering the sealant first. Derek took the small tube.

    "She says they were a hunter." The man answered as he began to work on the younger's wall again. "This'll take a day to dry and finish up, just one more night..." Derek softly replied. Stiles nodded again.

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.Tuesday.
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    Stiles tossed the left over steak from the night before in his pan. Scrambled eggs cooking in the next one over. The man quickly stirred the eggs and spun around to pop the toast from the toaster and plopping the two pieces onto a plate. Scott hummed as he jogged down the stairs.

    "I'm going on a morning run, Erica is still out there. You good here?" The alpha asks as he swings into the kitchen to pull open the fridge door and grab a water bottle. Stiles nodded his yes.

    "Be back for breakfast." The human calls to his best friend before the door slammed shut. Stiles sighed and bowed his head partially, softer foot steps climbing down the stairs stealing his attention.

    "Morning!" Kira calls as she happily slides into a bar stool place.

    "Morning Kira." The human answered cautiously watching the never early fox, a small glowing heuh hanging over her body and eyes. "Something wrong?"

    The woman shook here head. "No. Good maybe. Although your in danger, vampires are roaming our land, Erica is still missing, and I seem to have lost control of my fox this morning."

Stiles smiled softly and rounded the counter, reaching the woman and wrapping his arms tightly over her shoulders and rubbing his cheek to her's. "It'll be okay, we'll find her, and get rid of the mosquitos!" Kira sighed and wriggled from the mans hold.

"Please just stop." The woman said quickly slipping up off the chair and to the stairs again, another sigh was heard as she left. Although Derek dropped down the steps watching her climb them.

"Something wrong?" He asks crossing his arms from the dinning room door way and leaning over onto the side.

"She's just really stressed right know..." stiles answers offering a smile as his visibly looks over Derek's loose pajama pants and tight gray undershirt. The human then veered off to the kitchen once again to finish breakfast before the rest of the pack woke up.

Derek leaned off the wall with a small smile following the younger into the kitchen and leaned onto the counter, hands braced on the marble behind his back. He leaned facing stiles who's back faced Derek as he cleaned.

"Something bothering you?" He asked softly, caution clear in his tone. Stiles shook his head no.

"I'm fine, just... worrying." The man waved a hand around his head aimlessly.

"No one is gonna attack you here, not again, I won't let that happen." Derek crossed his arms pinching his brows and watching Stiles's back. The young man tensed and rolled his shoulders.

"Is that what you think?" Derek paused.

"What?"

"You think I'm worried about myself when Erica is missing, when you all got hurt protecting me? I couldn't care less, what I care about is who is getting hurt!" Stiles spun as Derek caught his wrist sponge in hand as he glared up at the alpha.

"I know you would sacrifice yourself for anyone else, anyone innocent. I know you stress about the pack eating or having a clean cloths. You take care of everyone except yourself. That's what I know."

    Stiles sighed and pulled away from the alpha, keeping his steady glare as he spun back around before speaking. "Whatever Derek."

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.Wednesday.
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"With the scent I caught we should be able to track these guys pretty far." Scott spoke leaning over the map next to stiles.

"Okay great. Where was it, here? By the lake out back?" Stiles planted a finger on the map unintentionally leaning closer to Derek as he then reached for the black sharpie.

"Yeah, it was kind besides it here. It was weak but definitely Erica's scent, and leading west, toward the beacon hills sign."

"They could be based outside of beacon hills." Stiles suggested drawing out the arrows and tossing aside the marker with an exasperated breath. Derek quickly took a red marker and wrote an X over one of the many circles the human wrote.

"I go through here everyday, there's nothing."

"But that would leave us without a trail all together, literally placing these fuckers dead center of the map." Stiles answered sweeping a hand over head the map before leaning back and planting his hands on his hips with a sigh.

"They have to be there then don't they..." Allison spoke up from perching with her knees pulled to her chest. Stiles has asked Derek to start hunting rabbits for her while he made smoothies with strawberries and grapes to hide the scent for the girl.

"Not necessarily, Erica could have left her scent purposefully for us before they moved again." Derek suggested hopeful.

"If she could." Aiden commented in a rather gloomy way from his cross armed stance half way in front of Lydia who anxiously picked at her cuticles.

"You know what! Whatever. Here's what we'll do. After school Scott, Allison, Lydia, and Aiden take the west. Derek, Cora, Ethan, and Jackson take east. I'll call Liam and have him, Hayden, Boyd, and Malia take north while the rest take south. That way we cover all directions."

    "Sounds good." Derek answers with a shrug gaining small attention to his non fighting or complaining comment. "Well use the decorative tissue paper stored in the closet to mark what we've searched."

    The group nods in agreement before stiles clapped his hands together. "Alright go get your shit I'll get the paper stuff." Another round of nods sent off the pack to their rooms to get ready. Stiles though sighed leaning his head back with worry and tiredness as he fought an urge to cry about the situation, and about not being able to help the pack at all. Today he was just going to work on stuff from school and pack up his stuff in Derek's room to move back into his own.

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