Meltdown [Derek Hale]

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"Derek... Derek? Derek, can you hear me? I need some form of answer, you don't need to say anything. Just do something. Derek? Derek!"

Hearing the voice, the man tried to move closer to it. But he was frozen. He'd never felt so weak before, he'd never been in so much pain before. He hated it, but the voice was a soft comfort.

"We don't have much time..." a different voice said.

"Okay so what do we do?"

Forcing his eyes open, he pushed past the cinder blocks that were weight down every ability to move in his body. Both Deaton and Juliette were knelt over him, both of them checking over him.

"That sounds... What was it?" Derek grit out, his voice as weak as his body.

"You're going to be weak for several hours," Deaton said, and Julie watched the vet carefully seeing how he treated him.

"You're going to be weak for several hours."

"...it actually happened..."

"Don't worry-- you're still an Alpha," Deaton said, a grim look on his face, "but, as usual, not a particularly competent one."

"Where is he?"

"Where's who?" Julie asked, as she glanced between the two men.

"I wish I could tell you," Deaton countered, and Julie continued to glance between them both confused.

"Then how about you tell me what you're doing here, and why you're helping me?"

"Juliette phoned me, she was the one who found you," Deaton admitted, and Derek glanced at Juliette confused but she couldn't give anymore information. She had no idea who had contacted her, "as for why? Helping your family actually used to be a pretty important part of my life. Helping you was a promise I made to your mother."

"You're the one my sister talked about. She said you're a kind of adviser?" Derek realised.

"She was right. And I have some advice that you need to listen to very closely right now. What Peter managed to do doesn't come without a price. He'll be physically weak, so he'll rely on the strength of his intelligence, his cunning. He's gonna come at you, Derek. He'll try to twist his way inside your head, preying on your insecurities. He'll tell you that he's the only way you can stop Gerard. Do not trust him."

"I thought Peter was dead," Julie cut in, looking between the two confused, but she was ignored once more.

"I don't trust anyone," Derek said, and Julie looked at him insulted. She thought they'd built some kind of bond, but clearly she had been mistaken.

"I know-- if you did, you might be the Alpha you like to think you are. And, unfortunately, the one person you should trust? Doesn't trust you at all."

"Scott..."

"He's with Stilinski right now. You need to find him-- you need to find him as fast as you can. I've known Gerard for a long time. He always has a plan. Something tells me it's going exactly the way he wants it to."

"Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?" Julie cut in.

"You don't need to know-" Derek began.

"Fine, next time I'll leave you for dead seeing as you don't trust me," she huffed, "now get up."

"I'm weak-"

"Stop being such a baby and get up or I'm leaving you to walk."

"So bossy," he muttered, and Deaton helped him stand up seeing as Julie was already walking back to her car.