THE HYBRID'S MATE, sterek [book 01] ✔

ii. who ordered a puppy?

     I shrug. "Peter approached me about it because I was apparently 'staring at his nephew with heart eyes', which I wasn't, and I kinda told him everything."

     "What about Liam? You told him."

     "Liam!"

     ONE NEW MESSAGE FROM: Liam (2)

     I puts in my pass-code and ignore Scott when he laughs at how obvious it is. I open the messages and stare at the phone for a good five minutes before the words on the screen sink into my brain. Scott must notice that something is wrong because he moves closer to me and reads the messages on the screen.

     From: Liam
     Hey Stiles. We're on our way back. Bad news though.
     Hayden got hurt and her cousins flipped out when she
     healed right in front of them. We had to tell her family
     what we are. My cousins and aunt know too. None took
     it too well but they eventually got used to it.

     From: Liam
     Hey Stiles. I kind of left some important stuff in my room
     at yours. Can you make sure it's still there? If it's not there,
     or something is wrong with it I am going to rip your throat
     out. Okay maybe that was a bit too far, but please check.

     Just as I am about to reply, another message comes through.

     From: Liam
     One more thing, DO NOT LET SCOTT SEE IT!

     Scott and I share a look before I type back a quick reply of 'okay' to the kid. Scott stays in my room as I go down the hall to Liam's room. I open the door and the first thing that hits me is the smell of wet dog. I quickly close the door and walk over to the small bathroom that is connected to Liam's bedroom, slowly opening the door to reveal the 'important stuff' that Liam left behind.

     The small bundle of dark brown fur launches itself at me and starts licking whatever part of skin it can reach. I crouch down in front of the bundle and blink in surprise at the golden eyes that are looking up at me happily. A small yip escapes the bundle of fur and it starts jumping at me, trying to play with my clothes.

     I wait until the bundle tires out before checking the food, water and litter tray that were sitting under the small sink. I refill the water bowl and give the bundle more food, but decide that the litter tray could wait until Liam came back - which would hopefully be tomorrow - and he could clean it out then.

     I quietly leave Liam's room, being sure to shut the door behind me, and walk back to my own room to find Scott gone and a piece of paper on my bed. I shut my window and plop back onto my bed, scrambling to catch the piece of paper before it went somewhere I couldn't get it out of. I unfold the piece of paper to see Scott's block handwriting, and a groan escapes me when I see Derek's name.

     Stiles,
     Sorry I had to go so soon. Allison and Chris have a minor emergency and need me to sniff something out. I'll tell you about it later. Just because I had to leave doesn't mean that you're going to get out of telling me about Derek. I'll make sure you tell me soon enough, maybe sooner than you think. I need to know, Stiles. You can't blame me because you did the same with Allison and Kira, and probably with the person I like now. Anyway, you're going to tell me eventually, hopefully it's by your own choice.
     Scott

     I curse quietly and scrunch the note up, throwing it to the corner of my room. I rub my eyes and groan, my mind going overdrive trying to figure out when Scott is going to make me tell him about Derek. My stomach drops when I realise that it is probably going to be tomorrow night, after Scott has gotten me drunk - and possibly high.

• • •

     Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

     I groan and shut my alarm off, sitting up. I yawn and rub my face, trying to wake up and stay awake so I can get out of bed. I finally decide that it's best to throw myself out of bed. So, I do. I land on the floor with a thud and a couple choice curses, but at least I'm more than half awake now.

     I get up and stumbles towards my bathroom, running into the door frame and then banging my hip on the corner of a cupboard. I blindly reach for the taps to turn on the shower, but yank my hand back when the hot water turns on first, burning my hand. I then manage to turn the cold water on without doing much more damage to my body.

     I strip down and then get in the shower, goosebumps covering my entire body until I get under the warm water and my body gets used to the temperature change. I am pretty sure I spent five minutes just standing in the hot stream before I reached for the shampoo to start washing my hair. I get shampoo in my eye and let out another lot of curses until the stinging subsides.

     Once I am finished with my shower, I walk back into my room - not noticing the person standing near my window - and drop the towel from around my waist. I pull on a pair of boxers and a pair of blue denim jeans before turning around and noticing the person standing near my window. My eyes blow wide when I realise that it is Derek.

     "D-Derek?" I stutter, a red flush covering my face in an instant. "W-When did you get here?"

Derek barely blinks. "About five minutes ago. I called out and you said you'd be out of the bathroom in a minute. Then you did, and then you-"

     "Derek! I know what happened after that!"

     "I'll just tell Scott that you're getting ready then."

     "Ready for what?"

     "His birthday party that Lydia set up."

     Oh shit.