xiv. HANGOVERS & DECISIONS
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Derek Hale |
THE NEXT MORNING DEREK WOKE UP WITH HIS MATE SAFE AND SOUND IN HIS ARMS. It was extremely comforting to know she was back in his embrace instead of left vulnerable and unprotected without him. Now he just needed to figure out how to keep her here safe with him after his encounter with some of the rogues yesterday. With their knowledge of her, he could only assume they would take advantage of her and use her against him. He was sure about one thing - they were not going anywhere near her. Even if he had to keep her stuck here again, he would do it in a heartbeat if it guaranteed her safety.
He froze when she unconsciously scooted more into him, her face buried in his chest and her hand clutching on his shirt. Figuring this moment would only be short lived until she woke, he enjoyed having her in his arms and her snuggle against him. This was something he'd been waiting for. To finally have the girl made for him within his embrace where he knew she was the safest. Even before he even met her, he dreamed of waking up with his other half in his arms.
He remembers all the stories his mom used to tell him all the time as a bed time story. She always told him the mate bond was the most sacred bond for a wolf. It was to never be taken lightly. They were a wolf's other half. No wolf would ever feel complete until they came across their other half. It was someone to love forever unconditionally. To always be by their side. There was no way for the bond to be severed, unless one of them died. But losing your mate was far worse than a meaningless heart break.
Losing your mate means losing a piece of you. When a wolf loses their mate, it causes the wolf a depression like never before. It can bring them to cause an endless destruction until the pain of a losing them kills them entirely. Wolves who had lost their mate always ended up dead or killed by their own kind due to the destruction they cause. And it was a feeling Derek wished to never go through.
Everything his mother used to tell him about mates were true. The feelings you immediately feel upon first seeing them are amazingly overwhelming. The desire to hold them and never let go. A fiery urge to mark them, to cover them in their scent so every other unmated wolf knew they were taken. All the things he was told as a child came to be true. He assumed he had enough information to be prepared for when his mate came into his life. But the extreme possessiveness he felt was something he was never prepared for.
Everyday was like a never ending battle with the beast inside him. It was a fight for control. His wolf pushed and clawed at him to take things further with her. Himself fought so hard to suppress his animal instincts to keep from scaring her even more. He hated himself for giving into his wolf. All he wanted and needed was for her to see he wasn't the monster. He wanted for her to believe he was never going to hurt her or let anyone hurt her. The only thing he could do was prove to her who he would've been before giving into his beast that night on the full moon. And he was going to do just that.
With a sigh, her reluctantly peeled himself from his mate to get out of bed. As much as he didn't want to leave, he had to as he was having a quick pack meeting to discuss the upcoming plans regarding the rogues. And there was one decision he was in desperate need of making for his mate and her safety.
After taking a quick shower and dressing in a back v-neck with jeans, he stepped back into his room to see Azalea still asleep. A small, loving smile took over his face as she slept peacefully while hugging his pillow. Seeing her in his bed and hugging his pillow warmed his entire being. His wolf wanted nothing more than to skip the meeting so he could take care of his mate. The sight of her like this was not helping very much. But he pushed down the animal inside him, leaving a lingering kiss on her temple.
He entered the pack house with his signature emotionless expression on his face. A few wolves in the house immediately cleared way once they felt the presence of their Alpha near. This brought a sly smirk onto his face for a moment until he stepped foot into the meeting room.
It consisted of the same people from the meeting yesterday. Only this time Christian wasn't here as he was taking care of Victoria. Derek minded the fact he wasn't here but understood why so he decided to fill him in later.
"I know we were going to hold another meeting on Monday but we need to plan immediately." Derek spoke, taking his seat at the head of the table. "We still don't know who the leader is. We have no leads on the location of their territory, we have nothing."
"If they're smart enough, they would be scattered into different groups across town. Maybe we should expand our searches further around." Chris Argent suggested, earning a quick nod from Derek.
"That's what I'm thinking. Jamie, Scott, and I encountered some rogues yesterday. They've seemed to be watching us for a while." Derek informed them, clenching his jaw as he recalled the threatening conversation with the rogue yesterday. Especially now they were aware he had a mate.
Scott looked at Derek incredulously, "What do they want? If they didn't want anything, they wouldn't be wasting their time watching."
"They want to overthrow me. Why? I don't know, but they want this pack demolished and me killed." The Alpha responded, thinking of his mate to keep him calm and collected. He couldn't make any decisions out of anger. He needed to be smart and powerful to keep his pack safe as well as his mate.
"We should figure out why and decide how to approach it. I'm assuming we're going to war with them?" Scott questioned, bringing Derek to look at him without responding.
"We're about to have two new people move into the community. Azalea and Victoria. They are aware of Azalea being my mate and are already trying to use her to get to me." Derek explained, eyes flashing their ruby red for a few seconds. "There's an open house on the North side. That's where they'll be staying."
As much as Derek would rather have Azalea be with him, he wasn't going to force her like he did before. He learned that the last time. Knowing she was going to be within the gates of the community was enough to keep him grounded. He would get to see her everyday and be able to protect her himself. The only issue was attending college. That's where he couldn't protect her.
"Have you talked to Alpha Shawn already? We're going to need all the help we can get for this battle. And they're extremely skilled and lethal." Jamie said, leaning back in his seat as he exchanged a glance with Scott.
Derek shook his head, "I'll be reaching out to him later today and make a plan for him to take a trip down here. I want them here sometime this coming week."
"We're definitely going to need extra training sessions. Chris, you start training the hunters and train them as hard as you can. I'll get Christian to begin his training as soon as possible. You all should know your roles to prepare." Derek continued, looking between everyone before his eyes landed on Allison and Lydia sitting beside each other.
"You two, I will allow you to hang out with my mate. But if I find out you three go into the woods again–"
"Derek, don't." Scott stopped Derek from threatening his girl and Lydia. "No need to threaten anyone."
Derek glared at him, "Do not ever interrupt me. Understood? Remember who's in charge here. Anyway meeting is over. You all have your jobs."
Without a second thought, Derek was out of the room within a blink of an eye. He had to make it back to his house where he knew Azalea still was. When he stepped into his room he saw her slowly sitting up, rubbing her eyes from sleep. He was expecting for her to give him a mean look or an attitude but when she looked at him, he was given a confused look.
"How're you feeling?" He asked her in a soft tone, sitting on the end of the bed.
"Like complete shit. Drinking as much as I did last night wasn't smart." She mumbled, wincing slightly as her head pounded. "How did I end up here? I remember Christian coming to get Victoria and I. That's it."
"Christian brought you both here since the two of you were too drunk to be left alone." He told her, still anticipating for some sort of anger from her. But he didn't sense any from her so to him, that was a good sign.
"I didn't do anything embarrassing, did I?" She asked, nervous for his answer.
He grinned, "I mean you tried to run around the community naked."
Her eyes widened in shock. Cheeks flushing a deep red in embarrassment, she let out a groan and hid her face into her hands. She glared at him when she heard him release a low chuckle.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You didn't do anything bad or embarrassing. All I did was give you a pair of clothes to change into then you fell asleep." He reassured her, seeing her then let out a sigh of relief. "If you want to shower and freshen up you can. You left some clothes and stuff here."
She nodded, looking down at her lap to avoid the intense look he was giving her. The look he was giving her made her feel so many confusing things and some things she didn't want to feel. She waited a moment until he for sure left the room so she could shower.
Derek made his way downstairs, glaring at Christian and Victoria who were sitting on his black L shaped couch in his living room. He made sure his pack members never showed up to his house unannounced, let alone allow them to come inside without him knowing. This made him irritated especially with his mate in the shower. Even with Christian being mated to Victoria, Derek still was bothered with his mate being near other guys.
"The hell are you doing here unannounced?" Derek immediately barked at him, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared directly at Christian.
"Relax, Derek, he brought me here so Azalea and I can leave." Victoria snapped, glaring at the Alpha who dared to speak to her boyfriend with disrespect.
Derek looked at Christian with raised eyebrows, "You didn't tell her?"
"Tell me what?" Victoria asked, turning to look at Christian who only sighed and leaned back into the couch.
"There's a situation that's been going on for quite some time. An enemy group has started lingering around us and threatened Azalea against Derek. You two going home is out of the question." Christian explained to her in short sentences, not going too deep into detail as he didn't want to alarm her and make her worry even further.
Victoria stared at him in silence for a few moments as she processed his words. Then she snapped, turning to give Derek a mean look. "This is all your fault!" She stood up and shoved him back forcefully.
"Vic! Calm down." Christian said, pulling her back behind him as Derek stood tall and flashed his eyes. "This isn't anyone's fault, okay? Don't blame Derek."
"What do you expect us to do? Stay here until it's safe for her?" She questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. "What about college? Do we just not go?"
"We'll figure out what to do about college, okay? But it's best if the two of you move out of your apartment and move into the community. There's a house open." Christian told her, running his hand up and down her arm in attempt to calm her.
She thought it over for a moment, "I don't think we can even afford to live in houses like these."
"It'll be rent free. I don't care about you two paying rent. I care about her safety and she's most safe in this community." Derek spoke up, listening for Azalea carefully to hear her still in the shower in his room.
"You two just have to move in as quick as possible. If you want, you both can be moved in by tomorrow evening." Christian told her, knowing this wasn't an easy decision.
"What do I tell her? She still knows nothing about you guys... you know..." Victoria trailed, looking between both wolves expectantly.
"You tell her you've been looking for places better than an apartment and I offered up my last open house for free. It's a big enough space and you wanna be closer to Christian." Derek told her, looking at her with a harsh stare in attempt to intimidate her.
"I don't know if she'll be willing to move. Change hasn't always been the best for her." She said, shaking her head. "It'll take a lot of persuasion."
The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs made the three of them fall into a tense silence. Derek's wolf purred when Azalea came into view with wet hair dressed in a pair of tight jeans she left here and one of his shirts. He purposely hid her shirts so she would have no choice but to wear his so she's covered in his scent.
"Hey! How's your hangover?" She asked Victoria before noticing the mood between the three of them. "What's going on?"
"It's nothing bad. But I just don't want you to freak out or anything..."