Keeping my hand clutched at the injuries on my stomach which were still in the process of healing. Since they were formed by an alpha I was healing much slower than I usually would and I wasn't enjoying it, I gave it about ten minutes more before they were fully healed. It also didn't help that it had created a mess in my shirt, this was one of my favourite shirts. Derek was carrying Isaac into the burnt down Hale house placing him down on a table.
"We've got a serious problem at school. Miss Blake's class-" Stiles voice called out from the other side of Scott's phone.
"Hey, can you tell me about it later?" Scott cut in, he was more concerned about Isaac. Derek stepped over to a collection of roots grabbing and tugging at them all until he could something of value.
"Well, no, pretty sure this qualifies for immediate discussion..."
"Okay. Then, meet me at Derek's."
"Derek's house? What the hell are you doing at-"
"Just meet us here, okay?" Scott cut in, turning the phone off before walking over to where both me and Derek were stood. Derek wasn't necessarily panicking and I wasn't sure what I was thinking. On the one hand, nothing terrible had happened and we needed to focus on Isaac, on the other hand was it about to start again? I don't think I could handle another situation which involved fighting for our lives and finding any more bodies. "You don't still live here, do you?"
"No... The county took it over," he explained. I'd seen his new loft and I hated it just as much as the depot. It was even colder. "But, there's something here that I need. It'll help heal a wound from an Alpha," he explained still rifling through the collection of roots.
"Yeah, but it did heal..."
"Not on the inside."
"Hey, are you gonna tell me who that was back there? That Alpha?" Scott asked, and I crossed my arms wanting to know myself.
"A rival pack. It's my problem," but that was far from the truth. Whatever affected him affected me and so for him to say that it was his problem completely changed the fact that it was my own problem as well. Was he ever going to tell me what the problem was, or was this another situation where he was going to start lying to me? "I know you wanna help, and you did-- I owe you one. Now, go home. Go back to being a teenager."
How could he ever go back to being a teenager? How could I ever go back to living a normal life? They were things that could never happen and I hated it. "Uh, hey, Derek? If you wanna repay back that favor now... There is something you can do for me," Scott said and I looked at him confused. What did he want? "I have a tattoo, well I did have one. It healed over. You have a tattoo so I was wondering how you got it."
"You have to burn it into you."
"What?" Both me and Scott asked looking at him confused. That sounded incredibly painful.
"Wait till Stiles gets here, I have to find something," he explained walking into a different room. Glancing back at Scott, I debated whether I should bother speaking to Derek. What if he lied again?
Biting down on my bottom lip, I walked after Derek slowing down as I got behind him. He was rooting through a box. "If you're trying to sneak up on me I'm afraid to say you can't." He mused, but I couldn't find humour in his words.
"Were you going to tell me about the alpha pack?"
"When it became a problem."
"It's been a problem for a long time, Derek. Yet, you still haven't told me," I pointed out and he stood to his feet turning around to face me. His eyes were both soft and stern at the same time and he crossed his own arms to mirror my actions. This was going to end up in an argument, I could already tell.
"Grace, it's my problem. What you need to be focusing on right now is that you're hurt," he explained his fingers prodding at the flesh around the wound. It was in a gentle way that I think he thought was supposed to be comforting and intimate, but it was hard to think that way when someone was lying to you. "Now let's focus on Scott," he said pressing his lips to my temple as he walked past me.
Hearing the door open, I immediately knew it was Stiles. Living with him I'd learned how he smelled a long time ago. Turning around, I headed towards the door and followed him into a room where Scott was sat in a chair. Derek was sat on top of a crate inspecting the beta's arm. Was Scott actually a beta? He wasn't technically part of Derek's pack so would that make him an omega? This was too much brain power.
"Yeah, I see it. It's two bands, right?" He asked and Scott nodded, "what does it mean?"
"I don't know," he admitted as he reached out to the dust on the floor, "it's just something I trace with my fingers," he traced the design as he he said so.
"Why is this so important to you?"
"Do you know what the word "tattoo" means?"
Stiles quickly interrupted, "to mark something," he said feeling proud of himself and I raised my brow at Stiles a smirk forming on my face. He was smiling and nodding as if he'd just figured out the biggest equation you could ever find.
"Well, that's in Tahitian," Scott said and Stiles smile immediately dropped, "In Samoan, it means "open wound." I knew I wanted to get a tattoo when I turned eighteen. I always wanted one. I just decided to get it now, it makes it kind of a reward," he explained.
"For what?"
"For not calling or texting Allison all summer." I still hated her. After being told that she'd not only contributing to the torture of Erica and Boyd, but also betrayed everyone again, I couldn't find the ability to forgive her. I think I hated her because she'd done it twice. "Even when I really wanted to, even when it was so hard not to sometimes... I was trying to give her the space she wants. Going on four months later... It still hurts. It still feels like a, uh..."
"Like an open wound," Stiles finished.
"Yeah."
Derek sighed before he pulled up the blow torch, "the pain's gonna be worse than anything you've ever felt," he warned. Scott nodded, he looked scared but he was also prepared to go through with it. He needed the tattoo enough to go through with the pain.
"Do it."
Derek nodded turning the torch on it. Both mine and Stiles eyes widened, it all seemed a lot more real now. It reminded us of the time where Derek tried to get us to cut off his arm. Well he tried to make Stiles do it. "Oh, wow. That's a-That's a lot for me." Stiles began beginning to walk around to get to the door, "so, I'm gonna take that as my cue, I'm just gonna wait outside-"
"Nope." Derek cut in grabbing onto his shirt pulling him back, "you can help hold him down," he warned. "Both of you," he added on his eyes trailing over to me and I sighed walking behind Scott. Clamping my hands down on Scott's shoulders I pulled him back against the chair whilst Stiles pressed down on his chest.
Pressing the flame down on Scott's arm, the boy immediately began to roar out in pain his eyes glowing gold and he quickly began squirming. "Oh, my god..." Stiles gagged, I wanted to do the same as I glanced down at the flame beating down on his flesh.
"Hold him!" Derek shouted over the sound of Scott's roars. It was harder than it looked as Scott continued to cry out in pain and then he passed out.
Both me and Stiles stepped back whilst Derek finished up, and soon enough the tattoo appeared on his arm. Two black bands. "God, I hate that tattoo," Stiles muttered and I glanced over at him amused.
"Then why did you let him get it?"
"Because he wanted it." He scoffed, "dad wants to know how you did today," he trailed off as we walked back into the other room leaving Scott to rest.
"Hmm? Oh, I won all the rounds. I'm going back tomorrow for the final so... I at the very least won $150."
"Oh, wonderful. It can be spent on your birthday party," he mused, "or my birthday present."
"Absolutely not, If I win that $150 or hopefully the $200 then I'll be spending it on me...or investing it... but probably not," I explained, "I do need a new t-shirt now after this," I added on gesturing down to the claw marks in my blood-covered shirt. "So it will probably be going on that."
"You're gonna spend $200 on a shirt?"
"Absolutely not! I'll spend ten on a shirt and then I'll be spending it on food probably."
"What's this?" Derek's voice called out, as he walked back into the room which both me and Stiles were stood in.
"Chess tournament, thought I'd give it a go," I admitted and he raised his brow.
"You didn't tell me about that."
Don't say it.
"You didn't tell me about the alpha's."
I said it.
He rolled his eyes putting the blow torch into the box and checking up on Isaac. Turning my attention back to Stiles, he was stood with his brows raised and the dead amusement on his face. "What?"
"Trouble in paradise?"
Scoffing, I shoved his shoulder pushing him backwards, "shut up."
"Did you have to do that for your tattoo?" I asked turning back to look at Derek, remembering the large black triskellion which sat in the middle of his back. He hummed with a nod, "well...I'm glad I didn't know you back then because if you'd done that with this bond I think I would have killed you myself," I joked and he raised his brow amused turning back to look at me.
"You think your human self could kill me? I believe we've had this question before, in strength, speed, stamina, stealth... I am your superior. Even now, because I'm an alpha," he trailed off, "I don't think there would ever be a situation where you could kill me... and because of the bond you wouldn't even want to kill me."
"I want to kill you now," I admitted crossing my arms and flashing an innocent smile.
"...It worked!" Scott's voice echoed throughout and I turned around to see him pushing himself up from the chair and over towards Stiles. The human in the house walked over to his friend both of them heading towards the door.
"Well, it looks pretty damn permanent now."
"Yeah... I kind of needed something permanent," Scott admitted as he pulled on his shirt. I would have my own conversation with Derek, but it was difficult to have your own conversation when they were talking. "Everything that's happening to us... everything just changes so fast. Everything's so, uh... ephemeral."
"Studying for the PSATs?"
"Yep."
"Nice."
"You painted the door," Scott said and Derek immediately turned his attention to Scott, "why'd you paint the door?" He asked and Derek began to walk over to him. Something was wrong. Following after them, I went into the entrance hall alongside Derek.
"Go home, Scott."
"And only one side?"
"Scott..."
Scott ignored all of Derek's words and flicked his claws out. He began to scratch at the door getting all of the paint from it and Stiles stepped back covering his eyes from the flying flecks of red paint. Once he was done, he stepped back looking at something on the door. Walking closer, I trailed my eyes over the door to see the mark on the door. It looked like a pack symbol, or a warning of some kind.
"The birds at the school, and the deer last night... Just like the night I got trampled by the deer when I got bit by the Alpha," Scott realised, I don't know what he was realising, but he'd realised something, "...how many are there?"
"A pack of 'em. An Alpha Pack."
An alpha pack? The one from the hospital. "All of them? How does that even work?" Stiles asked.
"I hear there's some kind of a leader... He's called Deucalion. We know they have Boyd and Erica. Peter, Isaac and I have been looking for them for the last four months," I knew the latter part but I didn't know the former. So, he'd been hiding things from me this entire time.
"Let's say you find them-- how do you deal with an Alpha Pack?"
"With all the help I can get."
Isaac's voice was the next to ring out, "where is she? Where's the girl?"
Derek turned back to look at him confused, an emotion that we were all feeling since none of us knew what he was on about. "What girl?"
I think I might die this time.