Sterek One Shots (manxman)

The Wolf That Heard Crying

Derek burst into a sprint, dashing through the trees to find the boy before the other wolf did. He found him before too long, jumping from rock to rock in a shallow stream bed. The boy heard him coming, whipped his head around to see Derek come crashing through the bushes on the bank. He yelped at the sight of him, a massive black-brown wolf bursting through the bracken, and overbalanced, landing in the stream with a splash. Derek ignored his splutter of surprise, craning his head around, looking for the other were. There were noises off in the distance; the unfamiliar werewolf had heard the boy fall and was headed in their direction. Derek huffed urgently at the boy, sliding down the embankment to join him in the stream.

"Whoa, whoa," the boy said frantically, scuttling backward like a crab. "Holy shit, you're huge! Stay where you are, that's a good boy."

Derek huffed again, ears flickering around as he listened to the other wolf approach. It wasn't moving cautiously at all, which made him worry that it was rabid, and that meant double trouble. He approached the boy, smelling fear spike through his misery and bumped his head against the kid's shoulder, trying to make himself as small as possible, unthreatening.

The boy breathed out shakily. "Okay," he muttered, bringing one hand up to touch Derek's back. Derek twisted his head to watch the embankment worriedly. He wasn't going to be able to get the kid up in time; the other werewolf was upon them.

The boy lifted his head, catching the noise of the approaching creature. He scrambled to his feet. Derek tried to push him backward, leaning heavily against his legs but the boy pushed back, distracted by the sound of the were crashing through the trees.

"Hello?" the boy called. He tried to climb up the embankment but it was slick with mud and his feet slid back into the stream. "Hey, is this your dog?"

The werewolf appeared at the top of the slope with a snarl, face already shifted, eyes burning blue. An omega, hungry and ignorant that this was Hale territory. The boy froze, his mouth falling open, his scent suddenly overwhelmingly strong with terror. Derek growled loudly, leaping up the embankment, paws scrabbling for purchase on the muddy ground, eyes burning red.

“Alpha!” the omega howled in terror, scrambling backward at the sight of him, scent changing from aggression to fear. Derek chased him through the woods, snapping at his heels. He could have killed the omega, but was worried about the boy in the stream. He stopped at the edge of the forest, tilting his head back and letting out a howl that would keep the omega running until he was a long, long way from the Hale territory.

When Derek returned to the stream the boy was still there, sitting on a rock looking pale. He smelled like sweat and panic and confusion and Derek slid down the bank carefully, not wanting to scare him further.

The boy looked up when Derek's paws splashed into the water. "What was that thing?" he whispered, and Derek could hear his heart hammering in his chest. "It kind of looked like a vampire from Buffy, but a lot hairier. Oh my god. I always thought it'd be kind of cool if Beacon Hills was a Hellmouth, but I take that back completely."

Derek stepped closer, tail wagging faintly. The boy held out a hand and Derek sniffed his fingers delicately. Under the scent of terror and mud, the boy smelled like cotton and sugar. The smell tugged oddly at Derek's heart and he nosed along the boy's arm, digging his face into his armpit. The boy laughed, and Derek relaxed at the way relief came pouring off him.

"Did you scare that thing away for me?" the boy asked, rubbing his long fingers behind Derek's ears. Derek sighed, resting his chin on the boy's thigh. "Thanks for watching out for me."

The boy sat quietly for a while, scratching at Derek's neck. Derek listened to the boy's heartbeat steady and sat calmly, even though the water of the stream was cold enough to numb his ass. He liked this boy, felt pulled to him for some reason. He didn't want him to leave. Derek sighed again.