Ellie was beyond frustrated.
"Seriously, Scott? How can you not remember what floor we parked on?" She asked, crossing her arms in exasperation.
The two of them had been put in charge of getting groceries to restock the new Stilinski-Hale Pack House while the others began to unpack boxes and set up.
She set her bags down with a huff and waited impatiently as Scott fumbled around for the keys.
He set his bags down as well and she let out a groan as her bottle of chocolate milk began to roll away and disappeared underneath a car. "Damn it, Scott." She growled as she knelt down and reached under the car and tried to reach for it.
She froze when it rolled back at her, three puncture marks scraped into the side and a loud growl echoed in the parking lot.
She only panicked for a moment, heart spiking and leaping up into her throat before a wave of calm called out to her from her bond with Derek.
Scott panicked completely. He quickly picked her up and threw her over his shoulder as he took off.
Eris held back a giggle as she watched behind them. Derek chased after them on all fours. It was downright funny to see in person.
Scott set her down beside a truck, pressed a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet before he leapt up and over cars, setting off the alarms and trying to lure what was chasing them away.
He didn't once look back.
Derek came to a pause in front of her, eyes gleaming before he reached into his coat and threw her an undamaged bottle of chocolate milk. How long had he been following them? Obviously long enough to get her a replacement.
She grinned. Now she wouldn't have to punish him for ruining her milk. She stood up and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, fingers skimming his jaw as a thank you.
He took off after Scott and she followed after at a more leisurely pace.
She smirked as Derek snuck up onto a car's roof. He grinned down at his unsuspecting victim. He reached down and hauled Scott up onto the hood, slamming him down with a claw pressed close to the skin at his throat.
"You're dead." Derek spoke as his head tilted in glee.
Scott deflated. "What... What the hell was that!?" He shouted, eyes wide and still slightly terrified.
Derek shrugged and leapt off the car, landing on his feet silently. Ellie came to a stop at his side, his arm looping around her waist and dragging her into his side.
Derek raised his brows as Scott scrambled to his feet, glaring at Derek with intensity.
"I said I would teach you." Derek shrugged. "Didn't say when."
Scott threw his hands up in the air in a very Stiles like fashion. "You scared the crap out of me!"
Derek held back a grin. "Not yet." He spoke, face blank as he stared at the teenager before him.
Ellie giggled and Scott gave a pout.
"Okay, but I was fast right?" Scott asked, attitude doing a complete 180 as he looked to Derek for praise.
Derek gave a short nod. "Not bad, but not fast enough."
Scott frowned. "But- the car alarms? That was a smart move right."
Derek sighed. "Yes. Until your phone went off."
Scott sighed heavily and his head fell. He glanced down at his phone. "Stiles wants to know what's taking so long."
Ellie gave a snort.
"I want to get stronger." Scott raised his head and locked eyes with his boyfriend's sister. "I wasn't able to do anything to prevent your dad from getting hurt last week. I feel like it was my fault. I should have been there to do something. I need you to teach me how to control this." He practically begged.
Derek sighed. "Look. I am what I am because of my parents. I've been this way since birth. You were bitten. It'll take you longer to learn. Peter will be able to teach you way better than I ever could once he is back to 100%. For now, you just have to deal with me."
Scott looked down sheepishly. "It's just... Seems like you don't want to teach me. Doesn't even seem like you want to have anything to do with me. Like I'm a burden."
Derek's brow pinched and he sighed heavily.
"You aren't a burden, Scott. I'm not... I am not used to having people around me who care or who I care for back. It's taking time for me to get used to it." Derek closed his eyes. "I haven't had a pack in nearly seven years. And now I have it again. It's amazing, but I'm unused to it." He confessed.
Scott's mood lifted, and if he had a tail, Ellie would bet money it would be wagging right now.
It was quiet for a moment.
"The first key to learning control? Find an anchor. Something to tie you down. To keep your humanity in check. Learning how to shift to Beta and back without losing it. Even just shifting your claws. You need to actually try. Practice." Derek turned and began to guide Ellie towards where he had parked his Camaro.
Scott scurried after them. "But I'm scared! I don't want to hurt anyone."
Derek paused. "Face that fear head on, Scott. Don't let it control you." He said before continuing on, hands on Ellies shoulders as he turned her.
"Wait!" Scott called. "What's your anchor?"
Derek froze. He glanced over his shoulder. "It used to be anger. Then Ellie came along." With those words, he continued on.
Ellie spun around, walking backwards and peering around Derek's side. "Make sure to go grab the groceries!" She called with a wide grin before turning back and letting Derek guide her to his heart's content. She unscrewed her milk and sipped at it, letting out a hum of satisfaction.
~~~~~~
Ellie frowned down at the list she had. Peter had sent her and Stiles out to this book store a few towns over. A store specifically for the supernatural community.
Nearly his entire collection had been destroyed in the fire. He still had a few of the really important books and tomes in the Hale Vault, but he wanted to start collecting once more. It would be needed for protecting Beacon Hills.
All they had to do was hand this list to the clerk, and they would go to the 'special' section in the back for what they wanted.
As she waited patiently for the kind woman who owned the store to collect the books, she was browsing the rest of the store, looking for anything that might catch her eye.
The sound of books hitting the ground had Ellie closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
She turned slowly and raised a brow. Stiles stood to her right like a deer in the headlights. He had his hand held out, finger poking the air above a small cart. On the floor before it, was a pile of tipped over books.
"Oops?"
Ellie sighed. "Just... Pick them up, Stiles. Don't touch anything. Jesus. I can't take you anywhere." She muttered.
The woman came back with a large box, which she made Stiles carry. She gave the woman the required money, courtesy of Peter, and watched as Stiles struggled to get the box into the trunk with a satisfied grin.
She slid into the driver's seat, hands stroking the wheel. "Oh. Derek needs to let me drive this baby more often." She looked over as Stiles sat down beside her.
She smiled as Stiles rolled his eyes. "You and your Camaro's."
She scuffed playfully. "Only because of Bumblebee." She paused; head tilted in curiosity. "Think Derek will let me get this baby painted yellow with black racing stripes?"
Stiles let out a disbelieving laugh. "Ellie, all you have to do is bat your eyelashes at the guy, and he'll say yes... Actually, that would probably work on any of them. Peter, dad, Derek. Probably even Scott."
They both froze in fear as a loud howl pierced the night. It was close. Way too close.
Something landed on the roof and Ellie let out a scream of fear.
"Ellie!" Stiles whisper-yelled as he reached across the console and took her hand in his. "Start the car!"
She fumbled with the keys and struggled to get the key in the ignition.
She let out a cry as a large, clawed hand slammed into the window near her head. "Call Peter!" She called out as the hand pulled back and began to carve a spiral into the widow before it was gone. Another howl pierced the air before it went silent, and the car shook as whoever was on the roof leapt off and disappeared into the night.
"That wasn't a girl's hand, Stiles." Ellie whimpered.
Stiles and Ellie sat in absolute terror, neither moving a muscle. Stiles slowly looked down at his phone, which was in his hand as it began to ring.
He shakingly answered, Peter's name flashed across the screen.
~~~~~~
"What does it mean?" Ellie asked softly.
She sat snugly between Peter and Derek as they held another meeting, only this time, Noah couldn't get out of work.
Derek was nestled against her side as Peter ran his hand up and down her neck and shoulder as he scented her.
Stile sat in a similar fashion as she, only half on Scott's lap as the werewolf scented him as well.
"Revenge." Peter said, voice filled with repressed anger.
"So, whoever this Alpha is, wants revenge? On who? The Hales? Or the hunters?" Stiles asked as he bit nervously at his nails.
Peter shook his head. "I don't know."
Ellie bit her lip. "It didn't hurt us. It just startled us. Scared us yes, but... I'm not sure what its goal is. So far, the only people it has killed were those involved with the fire. Could this alpha be a friend of the Hales who found out the truth behind the fire?"
Peter sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's possible. The Hales had a large span of allies."
Ellie bit back a smile as Derek's nose brushed against her neck. His own way of trying to both comfort and scent her.
Derek had pulled her out of the car before she could even shut the engine off.
They all sat in silence for a while before Ellie stood up. "I'm going to head to bed. I'm exhausted and want to sleep."
They all said their good nights and Derek trailed after her, hand never leaving her waist as they went up the stairs.
Peter watched them leave with a small smile.
~~~~~~
Derek stepped into the vet's clinic, Ellie at his side dutifully. He had gotten a lead. Where from, she would never know, but he wanted to confront Deaton first before telling the rest of the pack.
They slowly made their way behind the counter, the front being empty, which meant the vet was most likely in the back.
Ellie couldn't help but feel suspicious. Something about Deaton had always rubbed her the wrong way. She stood behind Derek as he slowly stepped into the same room they had nearly taken his arm off in.
"Scott." Deaton spoke, not looking up from his task. "Late again. It's beginning to become a habit." He turned to face them with a smile, which instantly dropped as he spotted Derek.
Deaton turned to face Derek, instantly weary. "Can I help you?"
Derek shifted, making sure to keep Ellie behind him as he bore a hole into Deaton's face. "Hope so. Wanted to know about the animal that you found with the spiral in its side?"
Deaton's brow furrowed and he crossed his arms. "Scuse me? What animal?" Ellie frowned. His posture was defensive. He knew something for sure.
Derek frowned. "Three months ago. The deer." He took a piece of paper from his jacket and unfolded it. It was a picture of a doe with a large spiral carved into its ribs. He held it up to face the vet. "Do you remember this?"
Deaton's eyes bounced back and forth between the picture and Derek before finally settling on Derek's face. "Oh, yes. It's just a deer. And I didn't find it. They just called me because they wanted to see if I had ever seen anything like it."
"What did you tell them?" Derek asked as he lowered the picture, his famous scowl in place.
Deaton shook his head. "I told them no." He maintained eye contact as Derek folded the sheet back up. He didn't believe the vet. He could hear the lie easily.
Derek's eyes darted around as if he were looking for something. He took a few slow steps forward, eying the vet in distrust.
"Did you hear that?" Derek asked, lips pulled down as his gaze zeroed in on Deaton.
Deaton took a stumbling step back, arms uncrossing as he moved slowly, trying to put the table in between him and Derek.
"Hear what?" Deaton swallowed audibly, fear beginning to set in.
Ellie watched the scene carefully, keeping quiet and staying in the doorway, the only exit to the room.
Derek gestured towards the vet's chest. "The sound of your heartbeat rising." Derek leaned against the table; hands flat as he kept his gaze firmly on Deaton's face.
"Excuse me?" The poor fool was still trying to act ignorant.
"It's the sound of you lying." Derek ground out between clenched teeth.
Ellie bit her lip. Damn. Bad guy Derek was hot.
She jumped slightly as Derek reached across the examination table, grabbed Deaton by his lab coat, and hauled him onto the table. He reared his fist back, paused for only a second before slamming his fist into Deaton's cheek, rendering the man unconscious.
Ellie let out a sigh as Deaton rolled off the table in an unconscious heap.
"Really Derek?" She made her way back out front and flipped the sign to 'closed' before shooting a text to Scott, telling him that Deaton had closed early. Right now, he was mostly likely distracted by Stiles, so he probably wouldn't even question how she knew that. She shut the lights off in the main lobby for good measure and made her way back to Derek.
"You better be right about this Derek. I'd hate to have my father arrest us both." She spoke firmly as she walked back into the exam room.
Derek was in the process of tying the man's hands behind the back of a rolling chair.
"He knows something." Derek ground out.
Ellie stood in front of Deaton as she raised his head with two fingers, examining the cut. She winced. Damn. Looked like it hurt.
Deaton began to stir, and Derek was instantly pulling her back.
Deaton blinked awake in confusion before his situation dawned on him.
"Are you protecting someone?" Derek questioned in a demand, stalking closer.
Deaton began to try and talk his way out. "If you want the keys to the drug locker, the keys are in my-"
Derek grabbed Deaton by the back of his neck and jerked his head back as he leaned close to the side of the man's face.
"I don't want drugs. I want to know why you are lying?" He growled angrily, gaze never leaving Deaton's face.
"I'd tell him, Deaton. You really don't want him to get angrier." Ellie spoke up as she stepped forward.
Deaton's body shook in fear and his eyes widened as he noticed her for the first time, having been completely focused on Derek earlier.
"Ellie? What..." Derek jerked his head once more to cut him off.
"I don't know what you are talking about!" Deaton stuttered out and let out a gasp in fear as Derek pulled back and spun Deaton's chair around to face him.
Derek lifted the man and the chair up into the air with little effort.
Ellie's eyes widened. Holy crap. Now was not the time to get horny! She berated herself. But come on! His strength was a huge turn on for her.
"What are you doing!? What do you want!?" Deaton cried out, eyes wide in fear.
"I want to know who you are, and who you are protecting!" Derek demanded, leaning close to the man's face to intimidate him.
Deaton continued to shake, absolutely terrified. Ellie couldn't figure out if he was truly scared or if he was putting on a show.
"What are you doing!?"
Ellie spun around and spotted Scott. He turned the light on and strode forward.
"Scott!" Deaton cried. "Get out of here!"
Derek slammed Deaton and the chair back onto the ground.
Derek landed a punch to Deaton's face, knocking him out once more.
"Stop!" Scott shouted as he came up to them. "Stop!"
Derek turned to face Scott, anger and irritation leaking into the air.
"Look, when he's conscious he can keep himself from healing, but unconscious he can't." Derek stressed as he spoke.
Ellie frowned. Wait. Derek thought Deaton was the Alpha? What made him think that? The deer picture wasn't exactly enough proof. Not to mention she was pretty sure the hand she saw had pale white.
"Derek-" She tried to tell him so, but Scott cut her off.
"Are you out of your mind!? What are you talking about?" Scott cried out, eyes wide and confused.
"The spiral means revenge, Scott. He won't stop killing until he is satisfied." Derek nearly shouted into the teens face to get his point across, hand coming up to poke at Scott's chest.
Scott frowned. "You think he's the Alpha? But Ellie said it could be a girl?"
Derek's brows arched downward as he hissed. "Ellie could have been wrong. It was a blurry, crappy photo."
Ellie glared. "Ellie is standing right here and doesn't appreciate Derek right now!" She hissed, arms crossed, a scowl in place on her face.
Derek ignored her and gave Scott a nod. "Let's find out." He drew his hand back, claws extended before he shot forward to scratch Deaton.
Scott wolfed out, face completely changing as he grabbed onto Derek's arm to stop him.
Ellie jumped in shock. This was the first time she was seeing the beta shift outside of a dream.
Scott growled and snarled as he stopped his pack mate from attacking.
Derek stared at Scott in shock, a little bit of pride in his eyes at seeing Scott successfully transform with no issues.
Scott tossed Derek's arm back and Derek took a step back.
Scott brought his hand up in shock, eyes wide and glowing gold as he looked up at Derek, a brief elated look at controlling his shift flickered in his eyes before he remembered the situation. He let the shift disappear, his human features returning. Ellie stepped closer to Derek, grabbing onto his arm.
~~~~~~
Derek paced back and forth as Scott cleaned up his boss's face of blood, making sure the cut wasn't too deep.
Derek let out a growl, his patience wearing thin. He stepped up to Scott's side.
"Do you have a plan?" Derek bit out in frustration.
Scott frowned and continued wiping up the blood. "Just... just give me an hour." Scott begged.
Derek sighed heavily. "Then what?"
Scott's eyes darted around, thoughts running a mile a minute.
"Um. Meet me at the school. The parking lot." Scott pleaded after a couple seconds.
Ellie huffed. "Scott-" He spun to face her.
"Please! Just... Trust me."
Ellie couldn't resist his puppy dog eyes.
She heaved a sigh and grabbed Derek by his leather jacket clad arm.
"Fine." She dragged Derek out by the arm.
~~~~~~
Ellie looked back once more at Deaton as he laid unconscious in the back seat of Derek's Camaro. Derek turned the engine off as he parked behind Stiles' jeep.
She opened the door and stepped out.
Scott gestured to the side; head tilted in confusion. "Where's my boss?"
Ellie glared. "In the back, where else?" She said as she slammed the door, immediately regretting the action as she rubbed a hand across the top as an apology, getting weird looks from all of them.
She turned with a frown. "What?"
Scott just shook his head. Typical Ellie.
Stiles and Scott stepped closer to peer into the back window and Stiles frowned. "Well. He looks comfortable."
Scott slapped her brother's shoulder to get his attention and they started for the school.
"Wait, hey!" Derek called out, hands in his jacket pockets as he held them to the side in exasperation. "What are you doing?"
Ellie stepped around the side of the car and came up to his side.
Scott turned to them with a frown as if it were obvious. "I'm gonna call the alpha." He spoke before they continued walking. "I'm going to see if you are right about Deaton.
Ellie turned her head and locked eyes with Derek. "How the hell does he plan on doing that?"
Derek frowned and looked down at his mate. He shrugged.
Ellie sighed. A small gust of wind blew past them, and she shivered. Derek frowned and took off his jacket, helping her slide it over her arms. She melted into the fabric, loving how his scent enveloped her.
Derek gave her a small smile and he leaned back against the car, bringing her around to snuggle into his front as they both waited for something to happen.
A loud, terrible sounding howl, at least Ellie thought it was supposed to be a howl, sounded over the school's loudspeakers and she brought a hand up to her mouth as she let out a laugh that ended in a snort.
Derek's head slumped back against the car. "You have got to be kidding me." He sighed.
Ellie giggled. "At least he's trying."
Derek tightened his arms.
The next howl Scott did shake Ellie to her core and Derek straightened up. Ellie pulled away and stood to face the school. The windows of the school were shaking and the pebbles on the ground were rattling.
Derek growled. "Those idiots."
As Scott and Stiles came out, Derek strode forward. "I'm going to kill both of you! What the hell were you thinking? Were you trying to call everything in the state here?"
Scott gave a nervous chuckle. "Sorry. Didn't think it would be that loud." He raised his arm and scratched at the back of his head sheepishly. Derek glared.
Stiles scuffed and then proceeded to chuckle. "Oh, it was loud, and it was awesome!" he said the last word in a sing-song voice.
Ellie wanted to slap Stiles. She could feel Peter tugging at her bond, demanding to know what that was.
Derek glared at Stiles. "Shut up."
Stiles scuffed. "Oh, come on! Don't be such a Sour Wolf."
Any other time, Ellie would have been proud of the nickname. It fit Derek perfectly. But right now, she was pissed and there was a worried Alpha no doubt on his way to them now.
"You have officially worried Peter, Scott. What the hell?" She hissed. "We should have told him and dad. We shouldn't have come out here without them." She said, before she shot a glare at Derek. "And you!" She pointed angrily at Derek, poking him in the chest. "We should have told Peter about the deer." Derek actually looked chastised.
Scott peered around Derek's side to look inside the car. "What did you do with him?" Scott asked in confusion.
"What?" Derek turned as well to look inside, and Deaton was gone. Ellie swallowed. Uh-oh. The door was open. Ellie took a cautious step toward the door.
"I didn't do anything." Derek said as he turned back to address Scott, body alert.
Ellie let out a scream as Derek was impaled, blood gushing from his mouth as he was lifted up into the air from behind and tossed to the side. Ellie watched as his body hit the side of the school and rolled to a stop on the ground.
The Alpha stood tall before her, the bulky form glaring down at her with eyes glowing red.
It swiped at her, catching her in the side and she too, was sent flying through the air. Her body rolled as it hit the ground.
Ellie's lungs seized on her as the breath was knocked right out of her. She struggled to lift herself up using her arms, but her strength failed her. Pain shot through her side. She let out a cough as she tried to catch her breath, one hand raising to cup her side.
Tears leaked down her face. She spotted Stiles trying to get to her, but Scott was tugging him toward the school, trying to get his mate to safety.
She sagged in relief as her brother and Scott disappeared behind the walls of the school.
Ellie spotted Derek's body lying prone a few yards away and began to drag her beaten body toward his. She cried out his name as she gently placed a hand upon his shoulder and pushed with all of her might to roll him.
She cried out in horror as blood continued to pool from his body. He wasn't healing! Why wasn't he healing!?
She could feel excessive tugging on the bond from Peter and seconds later, a loud vicious sounding cry echoed in the distance. Her Alpha was coming, and he was on a warpath.
She bit her lip as she tried to muffle her cries. She was worried. Peter wasn't fully healed yet. He was still recovering his strength.
Her chest heaved with exertion as she dragged Derek's torso onto her lap so she could cradle him close.
She brushed his bangs away from his forehead. His hair soaked and stuck to his forehead. His eyes were closed, and he was barely breathing. "Derek." She whimpered.
She couldn't lose him. She wasn't ready. She had only just found him. She wasn't ready to let him go yet.
"Come on, baby. Stay with me." She begged as she stroked his jaw.
He let out a low groan that broke off as the pain hit him. His face scrunched up and his eyes fluttered before he fell unconscious once more.
A low, deep growl made the blood in her veins freeze. She looked up slowly, eyes wide in terror.
The alpha standing before her was absolutely terrifying. It bared its teeth, saliva dripping down from its razor-sharp teeth. She didn't even know that werewolves could shift like that. This alpha looked like it had come straight from the Underworld movies. Was that only an Alpha thing?
She let out a horrified scream as it lunged, claws sinking deep into her shoulder, and it ripped her away from Derek.
She went soaring through the air once more. Her head collided with something hard, and everything went black, body crumpling to the ground in an unconscious heap.