Ellie was grinning so wide that her cheeks were hurting. She gripped onto the dashboard in front of her as the scenery whipped past.
She was bouncing in place, staring out the front window in excitement and wonder. She'd never been in a car that could go this fast before.
She was so focused on the road in front of her that she completely missed the soft look that flickered across Derek's face at the sight of her joy and excitement.
When she turned to grin at him, she met with one of Derek's typical stares. His head turned toward her, his eyebrows rising up and down while his face remained blank. She giggled.
Ellie leaned back heavily into the seat as he rolled to a stop in front of her house. She gazed out the window with a soft frown. She needed to tell him about Peter.
"Do you know what I do for a living?" She asked softly, gazing out at the house before her, not a light on.
She didn't expect an answer, so she continued on.
"I graduated high school at sixteen and spent the next three years on getting a few master's while away at college, but nothing screamed at me. Not until I volunteered at a long-term health facility. I ended up getting a license so I could help those who couldn't help themselves." She trailed off with a fond smile.
"Three years ago, I met a man at the facility who had been one of the only survivors of a fire that nearly killed his entire family." Even though she wasn't looking at him, she could feel the thickening tension in the air between them.
"His body and mind were left in a catatonic state while they both healed." She looked down at her lap and picked at her nails. "I began working with him as his main health care nurse. I grew fond of him. I came to view him as my second father."
She let out a heavy breath, struggling to continue, not knowing how he would react to the next part.
"A year into working with him, the state declared him abandoned. His niece had stopped paying his medical bills, and we were about to be forced to kick him out." Ellie was beginning to get emotional. What Laura did still pissed her off to this day.
"My dad and I fought tooth and nail for me to become his legal guardian and medical proxy. And to my utter surprise and joy, a judge signed a piece of paper that made it happen. I was able to save him. He had begun responding to me more and more, able to communicate using his eyes and make small hand movements. He's truly healing." She chuckled wetly.
She glanced over towards Derek and smiled sadly. He was clenching onto the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. His eyes were wet, and he was glaring down at the chevy symbol on the wheel.
She reached over and gently coaxed his hands to unclench. She took his right hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.
"You had no idea he was still alive, did you?" She asked softly.
He stared at her blankly for a moment before blinking and gritting out heavily between clenched teeth. "No. She told me we were the only survivors."
Ellie nodded and moved back. She unbuckled, opened the door, and stepped out. As the door shut, she bent at the waist to peer back inside through the open window.
She met his gaze once more, watching as his eyes searched her face. "Sunday, Stiles and I are going to visit him if you'd like to join us. I know he would love to have you as part of his pack once more."
"Thank you for the ride, Derek. You saved me a long trip walking home." And with that, she left him with those words swirling around in his head. His eyes widen in shock as her words are processed.
She knew.
She knew they were werewolves.
~~~~~~
Stiles was restless. After driving around looking for Scott for nearly three hours, he had given up and headed back home.
He was glad to see his sister had made it home but felt guilty for abandoning her at the party. He hoped she didn't have to walk home alone.
He walked into his room and over to his desk to turn the lamp on.
He turned and let out a squeak as he spotted Scott sitting on his bed.
"Dude!" He whisper-shouted, not wanting to wake Ellie.
Scott stood up from the end of the bed and shuffled over shyly.
"I'm sorry." He spoke softly.
Stiles frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "For what? Slamming me into the wall, shoving my sister, or kissing me?" He tried his hardest to be mad, to look mad, and by the sad puppy eyes Scott was throwing his way, he accomplished just that.
Scott looked down as he let his claws out, clenching and unclenching them. "The first two. I never wanted to hurt you or Ellie. I..." he trailed off and sighed, closing his eyes.
"I'm beginning to accept what I am now. What I am capable of. How dangerous I could be to those around me."
Stiles gave a snort and shrugged his shoulders. "I've been telling you that for days!"
Scott flinched. "I know."
Stiles let his anger drop and stepped closer to Scott. "What happened tonight, Scott? Where did you go?"
Scott stepped back a few steps and let himself fall into a seat on the end of Stiles' bed once more.
"The woods. I needed to run. To get away from everyone."
Stiles swallowed thickly. "From me?"
Scott's head shot up, and he rapidly shook his head. "God no. Never from you." He reached out hesitantly when Stiles stepped closer and stood right in front of his seated form. He took both of Stiles' hands in his own. He smiled softly down at their joined hands. His hands dwarfed Stiles in size.
"Derek found me in the woods. Told me that this was bound to happen. That I would lose control. He said I needed to find an anchor. Something or someone to hold my control in place." He paused for a moment before continuing.
"I need you to listen and not say anything until I am done speaking. Please, Stiles, you need to listen, to understand." He all but begged as he looked up and locked eyes with his best friend.
"Okay." Stiles breathed out softly.
Scott took a deep breath and began speaking from his heart.
"I thought my fascination with Allison meant that I liked her. But I know now it was only because she was the new girl, and something about her disturbed and piqued my wolf's interest. I stupidly didn't realize it was not in a good way either. I'veonly just accepted my wolf. I couldn't sense what he was trying to tell me about her. That she is not the one." He heaved a sigh out through his nose.
"I don't think I like girls at all. When she was all over me tonight, I felt gross. Nasty. I didn't like it and I was about to tell her to stop when she kissed me." He scrunched his face up in disgust.
"My wolf hated it. I hated it. I pushed her away and left. And when you followed me, I felt relieved, elated... Content. So many things at once. When I saw how worried you were, how much you cared..." He searched Stiles' face and smiled at the red hue that flushed across the tops of Stiles' ears and cheeks.
"I will never regret kissing you." He whispered. "I told Derek what happened and how I felt. That's when he told me that when a wolf meets their mate, no one else matters. If they try to be with someone in that regard who isn't their mate, they feel sick and can't physically be with anyone else. A wolf's mate was born for them. They are everything. Wolves mate for life, Stiles. And I think you are my mate. I kissed you and my wolf howled in joy. Hell, I wanted to keep kissing you, but I was losing control and needed to leave." He trailed off and they fell into complete silence.
Scott tugged lightly at Stiles' hands. "You can speak now." He practically begged for Stiles to say something.
Stiles snapped out of his shock and launched himself forward. His arms looped behind Scott's head, fingers curling into the hair at the nape of Scotts neck and slammed his lips onto the unsuspecting wolf's in desperation.
~~~~~~
Ellie was pissed. When she, Stiles and Derek approached Peter's room Sunday, Jessica was there again. Only this time, she was blowing into the whistle as soon as they had entered the room.
Derek curled in on himself and covered his ears in pain. What had Ellie pissed though, was the fact that Peter was on the ground writhing in agony. How long had this bitch been dog whistling at him when no one was around.
Ellie pounced. She ripped the whistle from between the woman's lips and slammed her head into the closest wall, knocking the woman unconscious.
Derek stood up straight and rushed to Peter's side, eyeing Ellie in awed shock.
Ellie shrugged. "Dad taught me some self-defense moves." She turned to Stiles who was staring wide eyed at the scene. "Call dad."
Derek's growl had Ellie kneeling beside him next to Peter's body.
Peter's eyes were flashing between his blue and red respectively.
Ellie reached out towards him, and his hand shot up, gripping onto the back of her neck with sharp claws, digging them into her flesh. She let out a gasp.
~~~~~~
Sharp pain. A howl. Red eyes. Jessica's face. A needle prick to the crease of the elbow.
Ellie could feel it all. Only, it wasn't her. She was seeing things through Peter's eyes.
There was laughter. A beautiful woman with platinum hair, stomach rounded with growing life.
There was fire and smoke; screams that sounded tortured.
Then tree's rushing by in the dead of night.
A young woman's face filled with absolute horror, eyes staring blankly at nothing, body sliced in half.
He didn't recognize her at first, but his wolf went completely feral. He wasn't in control. The spark of power hit him full force.
Someone had killed his pack. There was a threat to his territory. His home. His pack. He needed to protect his pack.
Fear. Shame. Recognition. Regret.
He recognized the woman now. He sat huddled over her corpse as he sobbed. Peter howled, wailing for his loss.
A loud pinching sound. Painful. Agonizing. Unable to resist the call.
Another sharp prick to his skin. Burning pain. Submission.
~~~~~~
Ellie let out a gasp as her eyes shot open. She instantly turned to find Derek cradling her, eyes searching her form for further injury.
"What did he show you?" He growled, eyes flashing blue as he looked toward his uncle's unconscious body.
"He... He.. Jessica has been injecting him with something... weakening his wolf, making him compliant. She forced his wolf to go feral on the full moon. Someone killed Laura. He found her... Lost control. Her spark passed on to him..."
Derek's eyes pinched closed. "Wolfbane or aconite. She was poisoning his wolf."
Ellie nodded. "She was controlling him."
Derek never turned his gaze away from his uncle's prone form.
"It wasn't him, Derek. He didn't kill your sister. He was torn apart when his wolf let him have control again... When he noticed it was her body... She had been dead for a few minutes tops when he found her." She reassured him softly. She pulled out of his arms and scurried over to Peter to check on him.
Derek gave a slow nod before moving to help Ellie put Peter into his bed.
"Do you know what we can do to cure him of the poison, or will it work itself out of his system on its own?" She asked Derek as the man lifted Peter into his arms.
"He'll be fine after a while. Just depends on how long she has been poisoning him, and how strong the aconite concentration was."
Ellie nodded. Stiles burst into the room a second later with Mary and the head doctor right behind him. "Dad's on his way!"
Ellie let out a heavy sigh in relief.
"We should tie that bitch up..." She said, before speaking the last bit softly. "We should also test Peter's blood. See if we can tell how long she's been poisoning him for. We can use the results to help nail her ass even more. It's in his medical files. It states simply that he is allergic to aconite and wolfsbane."
Mary nodded and left to get the required kit.
Ellie gently carded her hand through Peter's hair, scratching lightly at his scalp.
She leant forward to whisper into his ear. "Don't worry, Papa. She'll never hurt you again. Not while we are here to protect you." She pressed a kiss to his temple and missed the look of adoration that flickered across Derek's face.