Derek’s POV
“Your wife suffered very extreme injuries, Mr. Hale. We’re not sure there’s much we can do besides try to save the baby by Cesarean section-”
“Tell me. I want to know what her injuries are,” I demanded hoarsely, my voice low and sharp.
“I don’t think that’s wise-”
“Tell me.”
“Well, okay then. It’s a long list, and if you want me to stop…” My heart sunk with every word out of the doctor’s mouth, and guilt pounded me like a battering ram.
“Mrs. Hale suffered an oblique fracture to her left wrist, along with several shattered and misplaced metacarpal, trapezoid, and scaphoid bones in that same region. There were several holes and tears of the biceps brachii muscle in her upper right arm from the arrow wound-”
“Can you just give it to me straight, doctor? No medical crap, just tell me what happened to my wife. Please,” I interrupted, and the doctor paused, eyebrows raised. He must have seen something in me that made him soften, because he changed course and began telling me what they’d pieced together from Chris’s injuries.
“As you know, your wife was attacked. Her left wrist was broken and shattered, shards of bone tearing up her hand internally. She was shot in her right upper arm with an arrow, which ripped her muscle.”
“Her left ring finger was cut off, presumably because of the wedding ring. I’m sure you heard how her attacker was obsessively in love with her, and that his motivation was primarily to have Chris for himself.”
I could only nod, expression stoic and hard.
“She cracked her jaw and suffered two broken ribs, which, judging by their position and severity, indicates that she was running away when somebody pulled her down from behind, most likely on a staircase.”
“She was stabbed twice; once through her stomach and uterine wall from above, and once more from the side. The knife went right between two of her ribs, although we think it missed the babies as there was a lack of internal bleeding or other injury in the ultrasound.”
“Your wife was shot in the left thigh from behind, and suffered extreme blood loss from this and numerous other injuries.”
“All of the skin was burned off of her right wrist, where you informed us her tattoo used to be. Again, we assume this was a jealousy-induced crime, as her tattoo was of another man’s name, correct?”
Again, I could hardly summon up the energy to nod my head.
“She has injuries indicating that she was sexually assaulted, particularly that she was raped.” I flinched, torturous images of Chris being forced to-
“Several of her knuckles are broken and bruised, and again, we assume they’re from fighting back and punching her attacker.”
“She suffered a lot of head trauma. A severe concussion, coupled with bleeding in her brain and a fracture in the base of her skull.”
“She was hit in the face many times, and has a badly bruised cheekbone and a broken nose.”
“Your wife twisted her ankle, which we think is from jumping off the window ledge onto the garage roof in her attempt to escape.”
“Due to her heart condition and the extreme exertion and duress she underwent, she had a pretty severe heart attack and heart failure, which led to her falling two stories off the garage. Granted, you made it there just in time to catch her, but the force slammed both of you into the ground.”
“She still suffered a smashed tailbone, a break in her right leg, a dislocated left shoulder, and some internal bleeding from the fall.”
“The fall, coupled with her injuries and heart attack, triggered trauma-induced contractions, and she went into premature labor.”
“We’re about to do a C-section to get the baby out, but that’s all we can do for Chris until she wakes up from her coma.”
I tried so hard to be strong for Chris, but hearing everything she’d gone through, everything she’d suffered because I hadn’t been there to protect her and our babies like I’d sworn I always would when we’d gotten married, made my knees buckle, and I collapsed to the ground. My head dropped into my hands, and I dug my fingers into my scalp, wanting to feel pain to punish myself for what I’d let happen to Chris. This is my fault. I should’ve been there.
“Mr. Hale? Are you alright?”
I felt the doctor’s hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off and pushed back until my head hit the wall behind me and I pulled my knees up to my chest.
“Would you like to be there when we deliver the baby?” the doctor asked, and my head snapped up.
“Babies. She’s pregnant with twins, you incompetent pric-”
“He’ll be right there, doc,” Virgin cut me off before I said something I’d regret. After arriving home just in time to dive forward and catch Chris mere inches away from the ground, I’d immediately rushed her to the hospital while the rest of the pack, who I’d tracked down furiously on my way there, captured the psycho who had attacked her and turned him over to the police, albeit reluctantly. Even I’d been tempted to rip him to shreds and avenge Chris, but I’d stopped myself. It wasn’t what she would’ve wanted.
“Okay. I’ll give you a moment while I fetch you some scrubs to put on.”
Virgin squatted down beside me, helping me to my feet and watching me warily as I ran a hand over my face and blew out a heavy breath.
“Derek. I know you’re worried about Chris, and you’re upset about what happened to her, but-”
“Don’t. Okay? I don’t feel like talking about it.”
“Fine. Don’t talk to me about it then. But one way or another, that’s yourwife in there, and she’s fighting for her life. And those are your babies that she protected last night; you owe it to her to be strong and to protect them too. She did her best. Now it's your turn; get in there and make sure your children are born safely.”
I knew in my heart that Virgin was right; I was no use to Chris if I was hating myself and moping around. I need to be strong. I have to be strong.
“For Chris.”
*** *** ***
Two weeks passed, and I still hadn’t been allowed to see the twins. Because of their unprecedented situation, they were so premature that their bodies were not even fully functioning yet, and so I’d managed to get them under Dr. Shea’s care just in case anything supernatural were to happen. If they were normal babies, they wouldn’t have made it, she’d told me, but the werewolf blood in their systems was keeping them alive, speeding up their development, and healing their injuries. They’d suffered bruises and some internal trauma from the attack, but luckily the knife had missed their bodies completely, or even my genes wouldn’t have been enough to save them. Dr. Shea had also told me that maybe the only reason Chris was still alive was because of the twins.
“Somehow, when she needed them the most, Chris was able to channel some of the most basic of their werewolf abilities, like their claws and their agility. I’m not sure how it happened; I’ve never dealt with werewolf-human pregnancies before. In fact, these are the first half werewolf-half human babies I’ve ever seen.”
Unfortunately, Chris still hadn’t woken up either, and according to the doctor, it wasn’t a good sign. The massive blood loss, coupled with her heart attack and severe concussion, meant that her body was struggling to mend itself. They’d done several blood transfusions, and set all of her broken bones, but her body just wasn’t responding.
“We’re sorry, Mr. Hale. We’ve done all that we can do. Now it’s just up to your wife,” they’d told me this morning when I’d been woken up by some rapid beeping from Chris’s monitors, and I hadn’t had the energy in me to argue with them or get upset. I had been in Chris’s hospital room day and night for the past two weeks, begging her to wake up, to come back to me, to keep fighting just a little bit longer. After a certain amount of time, my tears had dried up and been replaced by the type of icy cold numbness that I’d felt after losing my family in the fire. Hopeless. It was like the very life had been sucked out of my body, bit by bit, every moment that Chris lay in that hospital bed, covered in bruises and bandages and casts.
And there was nothing I could do about it, except sit beside her, hold her hand, and take as much of her pain away as I could. Fortunately, Chris couldn’t feel the pain in her coma, but it helped me to know that I could at least do something. I hardly cared about anything else anymore; I would’ve given anything to just have Chris open up her eyes and show me that she was going to be okay. She has to be okay.
“Have you even left to change your clothes? You totally reek, Derek.” Peter’s voice sounded from behind me, and I heard the soft click of the door shutting and then the more suspicious sound of the lock sliding in.
“Go away,” I grumbled hoarsely, turning my eyes back to Chris’s face. The dark, mottled bruise on her cheekbone had faded to a nauseating yellow-ish color, and the swelling in her nose had gone down significantly as well.
“Now is that any way to speak to your genius uncle, who knows how you can save Chris?”
My gaze snapped up, all of the nerves in my body crackling in response to Peter’s bait.
“What are you talking about? You better not be screwing with me, Peter, or I swear to God-”
“Relax. I’m being serious. You think this little redhead hasn’t grown on me in the past two years?” To my surprise, there was a note of actual sincerity in Peter’s voice as he walked closer and placed one hand on the bulky cast Chris had on her right leg. I watched his face carefully for signs of deception, or ulterior motives, but the look in his eyes told me he didn’t like seeing Chris like this any more than I did.
“I don’t want to see our family fall apart, not again. And you need this girl if you’re going to lead your pack and become an Alpha to rival even Deucalion.” The mention of that bastard had hatred choking my next words, as I remembered how he’d tortured Chris, and killed Cora and Monica.
“Help me,” I practically begged my uncle, and to my relief, his gaze softened as it turned to me. Moving too quickly for me to stop him, he swiftly lifted Chris up, placed her in my arms, and carefully ripped out all of her IVs, tubes, monitors, and straps.
“What are you-?” I blurted out, jumping to my feet in outrage as every monitor in the room began to beep and shriek.
“There is a way. To save Chris. But it’s not medical, and it’s sure as hell not going to happen in this hospital,” Peter told me, striding over to the door and peering out.
“How do you-?”
“I overheard Chris’s doctor telling one of the nurses to pull the plug tonight. He said Chris was inevitably going to die, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. I’m sorry, Derek, but this is the only way to save her.”
After a hurried drive back to the hotel with me cradling an unconscious Chris in my arms, we finally made it up to our room and locked the door. The house had not only held a lot of bad memories, it had been taped off as a crime scene for the past two weeks, sending me and the entire pack into the nearest hotel. I set my wife down on the bed gently, making her as comfortable as possible with pillows and blankets, even though she couldn’t feel any of it. I had no idea what Peter’s plan was, but it didn’t seem to involve anything other than the two of us as he had me stand on one side of Chris while he stood opposite.
“Okay, now are you going to tell me what the plan is? Chris isn’t going to last much longer without her medication,” I pointed out, worry tinging my tone, and Peter fixed me with a very grave look.
“Derek, before we do this...I have to ask you something and you have to answer with complete honesty.”
“Okay,” I said hurriedly, nodding frantically as my eyes watched the color slowly fade from Chris’s face. We’re running out of time.
“Are you willing to do absolutely anything to save Chris? And I mean anything, in the entire world.”
“Of course.” I didn’t even have to think about it.
“You’re sure? Because what we’re about to do...it can’t be undone.”
“I’m sure, Peter - there’s not a thing in this world I wouldn’t give up for Chris.”
“I hope that’s true, because...to save Chris we need to take her pain.”
I stared at my uncle for a moment, dumbfounded.
“That’s it?”
“No, Derek...we need to take all of her pain.”
“How is that even possible?” I asked, a little doubtful.
“As an Alpha, it’s possible for you to channel just enough power to break past the barrier and take all of Chris’s pain away. She will heal immediately,” Peter explained, his mouth set in a grim line as I waited for the price I’d have to pay.
“But…?”
“But…you won’t be an Alpha anymore. You have to give up that power in order to take Chris’s pain.”
*** *** ***
Chris’s POV
I woke up screaming. Every inch of my skin felt like it was on fire, and I was vividly brought back to when Psycho Derek had been burning my tattoo off. Maybe this is it. Maybe I never actually escaped, and he’s still got me and now he’s burning me alive as punishment. I kicked my legs, writhing against the arms that held me down, my throat cracking and aching as I shrieked. Suddenly, a pair of warm lips silenced mine, and like a light switch, all of my fear and panic melted away. Derek. I would recognize his lips anywhere, and tears instantly sprung up in my eyes as I realized I was safe. He came for me.
“Oh Chris, thank God,” he murmured, and now the arms restraining me were wrapping around my waist, as Derek dropped to his knees beside what I assumed was our bed. His head fell on my stomach, and as tears ran down my face in relief, I felt moisture on the thin tank top I was wearing, and realized that Derek was crying. No, not crying. He was sobbing, his shoulders shaking and his hands clenching at me like he was scared I was going to float off into the air. I could count on one hand the amount of times I’d ever seen Derek cry; he’d never broken down like this in front of me before, though. Not so completely and utterly vulnerable. Warmth sprouted up in the center of my chest, moving into the rest of my body as I sat up and grabbed Derek’s face in my hands, bringing it up so I could look into his eyes. His cheeks were red, the skin around his eyes mottled and puffy, but the swirling emotion in his green eyes is what struck me the hardest.
I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but then my words caught in my throat and I burst into tears, pulling Derek further onto the bed beside me and curling up against him. I had so many questions, so much to ask him and to figure out myself, but in that moment, I completely forgot about the attack. I forgot about Psycho Derek, and I even forgot about the fact that I was nearly unharmed at the moment; the only evidence of the attack being my heavily bandaged wrist. Derek’s hands were painfully tight around my body, but I didn’t care. I lay my head against his chest and held onto him for dear life while we both cried for each other.
*** *** ***
We returned to our house two days later. Derek and I hadn’t left the hotel room at all, but not for the reasons the pack seemed to think. We’d lain in bed together, just holding each other and saying how much we loved each other over and over again, despite the rampant questions tearing through my mind. Derek hadn’t shed a single tear after that day, but after seeing him so completely destroyed, I felt closer to him than ever before, which I hadn’t thought possible. I could hardly believe it was allowed for someone to love another person this much; I felt like every piece of me was interlaced with Derek, and that without him, I couldn’t possibly exist. I loved everything about him, even his rigid stubbornness and intensely introverted personality.
But now that we were back home, the inevitable finally happened.
“Now Ms. Hale, could you please describe your attacker to the best of your ability?” the police detective asked me, and I sighed internally.
The entire pack was gathered in the living room, eager to hear me recount that awful night, mainly because nobody besides me actually knew what had happened. The doctors had pieced together a great deal of it, but now everybody was ready to hear what had really happened. Unfortunately, because Derek had somehow managed to magically heal me, I had no choice but to lie. Derek hadn’t told me how he’d saved my life; just that it had cost him. I wasn’t totally healed, of course. He’d said that he’d only done enough to save my life, so I was still left with a completely burned wrist; but other than that, I was uninjured. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve been hounding Derek for an explanation, but this time I was just relieved I hadn’t died.
For the second time that year, I’d legitimately accepted the fact that I was going to die, and it was starting to take a toll on me. It also made my blood boil to think that because of my lies, that psycho might get to walk free, but it was the price I had to pay for survival. Derek and Peter had paid off the doctors to keep quiet about the real nature of my injuries, so now all I had to do was give my edited version of the attack to the police, making sure to only include the injuries I had or others that would have healed in three weeks time.
“I didn’t get a great look at him. He was big, though, with really dark eyes.”
“But you’d met him before, correct?”
“Yes. He pretended to be the older brother of one of my deceased friends.”
“Aiden Masters?”
“Yep.”
“And when was your first encounter with your attacker?”
“Thank you so much,” I panted graciously over my shoulder as I left, barely taking a second look at the guy.
“Anything for you, Ms. Christina Hale,” he mumbled after me, letting the glass door shut as he watched me go.
“I ran into him briefly in a Starbucks, but didn’t formally meet him until he followed me and my friend back to this house and broke in.”
“And yet, you didn’t report that incident. Why?”
“Well, he said he was Aiden’s brother and had a fairly convincing story to back him up, so I didn’t think anything of it at the time.”
“Fair enough. Now would you please tell me what happened that night? Be as specific as possible, if you don’t mind.” And I proceeded to lie straight through my teeth, frustration building up inside of me as I repeated everything Derek and I had gone over earlier. It’s the only way. It was either lie or die, and I’d much rather live. I just hated that I couldn’t reveal the extent of that psycho’s criminally insane crimes.
“It was a Friday night, so everybody was out and I was home, by myself.”
“You say you were alone, and yet, you live in this house with your husband and ten other roommates. Where were they?”
Derek, why are you in Reedley? That’s like three hours away!
This is Christian. It has to be.
“My husband was falsely lured out to Reedley by my attacker - he hacked my phone and sent Derek a text telling him to meet me at some hotel in Reedley. Then he sent a text to all of our roommates, telling them that we wanted the house to ourselves and to not come back until the morning.”
“And your attacker - how did he get in?”
“I’m not sure. I was in the living room when I heard the noise, like somebody coming down the hall. I hid behind the couch until he was farther into the room, and then I made a run for it. He caught me, though, and tackled me in the kitchen.”
“And what happened next?”
“He tied me to a chair, gave me this whole speech about how much he loved me and everything. But there was something dark about it, and that’s when...he saw the tattoo of Aiden’s name that I have - that I had on my wrist, and he burned it off,” I choked out, my hands beginning to shake as I briefly relived the awful moment.
The pain was like nothing I’d ever felt before; my vision went white for a moment as I struggled and kicked and shrieked against my gag, agony searing every inch of my body as my skin began to bubble and burn. Hot, desperate tears leaked down my face and dripped over the duct tape, and the agonizing, throbbing pain finally ceased when I blacked out.
“Out of jealousy?”
I nodded.
“And he did this using the gaslight on the stove?”
I nodded again.
“And how did you escape?”
“Well, I waited until he wasn’t looking, and then I grabbed his gun and tried to aim it at him, you know, to defend myself. Unfortunately he was quicker than me, and using my other hand was awkward, so he was able to knock it out of my grasp.”
“And did it anger him that you had tried to shoot him?”
“Well, yeah. I panicked and started running up the stairs, to the bedroom at the end of the hall. I thought he was trying to murder me.”
Ever since I first laid eyes on you...I knew we were meant to be.
Please, Christina - I don’t want you hurt. I just want to be with you.
“And he followed you upstairs?”
“Yep. I saw he had the gun, and like I said, I was freaking out. So I threw a lamp at him and he fired at me. Luckily, he missed.”
I barely managed to avoid another gunshot, and then I felt agonizing pain sear through my thigh as a bullet ripped through my leg. I screamed as a cold numbness was steadily climbing up my body. I knew in my mind that I had been shot, but I couldn’t feel a thing.
“And then what?”
“He began to attack me. He jumped at me, tackling me to the ground and banging my head pretty hard against the floor. That’s how I got my concussion.”
“But you remained conscious?”
“Yeah,” I lied, squeezing Derek’s hand tightly.
I felt hands wrap around my waist, and I was tackled to the ground mercilessly. My head hit the oven hard, and darkness swallowed up my last, panicked cry for help.
“Did you fight back?”
“Yeah, I landed a couple blows on him before he overpowered me. That was when he, uh…”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Hale, but I’m afraid I have to insist that you actually say what happened.”
“He raped me,” I spat, the words falling like rocks out of my mouth. Everybody in the room went silent, even the detective, and the pressure on my hand from Derek grew extreme.
“I’m very sorry,” the policeman murmured finally, and I shrugged emotionlessly.
“It’s over now.” Thank God.
“What happened after that?”
“Well, I grabbed his gun while he was, uh, a little distracted...and I shot him.”
“In the leg, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
Yanking the gun out from down my shirt, I shot at his leg and then reached down to rip off the tape around my legs. He roared in outrage and agony, dropping to the ground as blood began to pour out of his calf, more than I’d ever seen before.
“What happened next?”
“I feared he was going to kill me, so I fled out the window, onto the garage roof. The gunshot hadn’t stopped him, and he kept coming. So I jumped.”
“You were fully aware that it was a two-story drop, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And you were nearly eight months pregnant at the time?"
“I’d hoped that at least my children would survive the fall, even if I didn’t. I just knew that there was no hope for any of us if I let him get ahold of me again.”
“And he jumped after you, is that right?”
“Yeah. He fell through some trees, though, and I believe he tore his throat up in the branches.”
“That’s correct.”
“And after that...well I don’t much remember the fall, but the doctors tell me Derek arrived just in time to catch me, although I still ended up with some scrapes and bruises,” I smiled faintly, patting the large bruise on my right leg and trying to lighten the mood as the detective scribbled some things down on his notepad and then got to his feet.
“Thank you very much, Ms. Hale. And my sincerest condolences for what you’ve been through. Don’t you worry, this guy is going away for a long time. I can promise you that.”
“Thank you officer,” I said as I walked him to the door, and when I returned to the living room, I was met by complete, crushing silence.
Every eye in the room was on me. Quinn and Usher were crying. Virgin’s dark skin was ashen, and even Hunter and Brooke looked like they had seen a ghost. Nobody said a word, but I felt their grief and guilt anyhow. I could’ve stopped this was written all over Blake’s, Axel’s, and Derek’s faces. I stood in the entrance to the living room, unmoving, my eyes bouncing from each of their faces to the next.
Surprisingly, Brooke was the first person to move towards me, and I watched her with wary eyes. She was one of the only members of the pack who still didn’t like me much, and after witnessing her cheating on Hunter with Blake, I’d decided that she was bad news. But now she came to stand in front of me, her expression hard and fierce. She didn’t cry easily, I could tell. Like Derek. But judging by the sharp glint in her grey-blue eyes, she had been through something. And she’d come out the other end a fighter.
We stood, staring at each other for almost a minute; I waited for her to hug me, or offer me some encouraging advice. They all knew what I had been through now, although I was sure they had heard some of the gorier details from the doctors, it obviously had still had an effect on them to hear it from me. But then Brooke surprised me by taking my hand, pulling it out, and slapping something cold against my outstretched palm.
It was my gun.
“Never again,” she said quietly, the intensity of her tone igniting goose bumps along my skin. Slowly, one by one, every member of the pack stood up and walked over to us, gathering in a loose circle around me and Brooke. Their silent support gave me strength, and brought tears to my own eyes as I looked around at my new family.
“Never again,” they promised me.
*** *** ***
For the next few days, I struggled to stay out of bed and not sink into the same depression I’d been in after Aiden’s death. Brooke and Axel had begun training me, per my request, on how to properly defend myself. Derek had protested a little at first, but I’d insisted that I needed to be strong if I was going to keep fighting. I needed to be able to defend myself; for my physical safety, but also for my emotional stability.
“I never want to feel like that again, Derek. I never want to fear for my life because I can’t hold my own in a fight. I’m not defenseless, and I’m not weak. At least, I don’t want to be. Not anymore.”
I was also starting to recognize each of the pack member’s different strengths and qualities. Quinn had burst into tears every time she’d seen me as of late, hugging me and sobbing all over the place nonstop. Usher had insisted that I “go see someone” to talk about the attack. Cash, Virgin, Blake, and Jagger had taken to trailing me around the house, never letting me be in a room by myself. Sometimes they pretended to just be coincidentally heading in the same direction as me, but more often than not they just straight up followed me. Hunter and Drake had even been taking turns sleeping outside of mine and Derek’s bedroom. Which is why I’d been spending all of my time with Axel and Brooke; because their way of dealing with the attack was to train me to be able to fight like them.
They made me run miles in the woods with them, struggle through military-level obstacles courses, do pushups and pullups until my arms went weak, and lift weights down in the home gym. They showed me defensive maneuvers, and taught me how to throw a proper punch. I practiced fighting an attacker with Axel, whose superior size only added to my motivation. They even got me a punching dummy so I could practice in the basement when they were busy. The strength and agility I was developing boosted my confidence, although I was still too nervous to go to school on my own.
Derek had been discreetly accompanying me every day; walking me through the halls, standing outside all of my classrooms, and essentially shadowing me for the entire day. But it wasn’t entirely because I felt like I needed the extra protection; I’d been so sure that I would never see Derek again that it felt like I was falling in love with him all over again. My heart ached every second I was away from him, and I could never shake him from my thoughts. Even when I was training, I could only picture the attack and Derek breaking down in the hotel room when I’d finally woken up. I never wanted him to feel pain like that again.
Derek had told me about the twins being in an incubator under Dr. Shea’s care; she’d told us we couldn’t see them for another week, so being with Derek helped relieve some of my worry about my babies. But lately, Derek had been acting kind of strange. Normally, he never shied away from danger or a little bit of pain, but twice I’d seen him flinch when the pack members flashed their claws or asked him to show them some kind of move. Brooke had confided in me that she thought Derek was losing focus because of the attack, which only made me feel worse. Being a good Alpha and a successful leader meant everything to him, and I didn’t want him jeopardizing that because he was worried about me.
So when I returned to our bedroom that night after a grueling afternoon of heavy training, I was immediately concerned when I found Derek bent over the sink, blood dripping down his neck in a small but steady stream.
“Derek?” I cried in alarm, and I ran into the bathroom with my heart in my throat. Derek instantly turned away from me, blocking the cut from my view and sticking a washcloth on it to stem the blood flow, but I’d clearly seen the blood.
“What happened? Here, let me see. Move your hand, Derek,” I commanded, getting in front of him and removing the sticky washcloth slowly. Derek blanched when I poked at his throat cautiously, and my eyes flew to his face. His teeth were gritted, and a vein was popping out in his forehead.
“Does this hurt?” I asked in disbelief, jabbing at his cut again, and my eyes widened in astonishment when Derek let out a low sound of pain and shut his eyes briefly.
“Don’t,” he grunted.
“Oh my god...what happened? Because this looks like just a tiny little cut-”
“It is. I nicked myself while I was shaving.”
“Then why are you in so much pain? Is your razor laced with wolfsbane or something?”
“No.”
“Then why does it hurt?” I’d witness Derek go up against all sorts of monsters - an Alpha pack, a kanima, the Argents - but he was flinching from some small shaving cut on his neck?
Derek sighed, dragging my hand away from his neck and taking it in his instead. He led me back into the bedroom, seating me on the bed and turning to face me.
“And it’s not healed yet...why are you not healing? Are you weak?”
“Chris...there’s something I have to tell you. And I’m not exactly sure what kind of reaction you’re going to have.”
“What is it, Derek?” I asked, fearing the worst.
“I’m not healing because I had to give up a lot of power to take away your pain after the attack.”
“You...took away my pain? Like the way you do with injuries or illnesses?”
“Yes. But in order to save your life, I had to take a lot of your pain. Almost all of it, in fact.”
“I didn’t even know that was possible.”
“Me either, until Peter showed me how.”
“But wait - why don’t you use that to save other people? Like Cora or Monica, you could’ve saved their lives-!” I exclaimed, surprised that Peter wouldn’t have pulled out that trick when Cora had been dying as well. But Derek was slowly shaking his head, his expression grim.
“Because it’s not that simple. In order to take all of your pain, I had to break past a barrier of sorts. It limits us from removing all of someone’s pain, to protect ourselves.”
“Was it difficult? To break past the barrier?”
“It wasn’t just difficult...it nearly killed me. I had to give up a certain amount of my own power in order to do so.”
“How much?” I asked slowly, and Derek fell quiet.
“All of it.”
“What?” I practically shouted, jumping off the edge of the bed and rounding on Derek, eyebrows raised. “What the hell do you mean, ‘all of it’?”
“Peter said I had to give up being an Alpha, that in order to break the barrier I would have to give up the power that makes me an Alpha - made me an Alpha, actually.”
A chill ran through me as I realized Derek wasn’t joking, and I stood, staring at him in stunned silence.
“Derek…,” I croaked, fighting the hot tears forming behind my eyes.
“You gave up all that power to save me? You’re not an Alpha anymore?”
“No I’m not an Alpha anymore, but…”
“But what?”
“I’m actually less than that,” Derek admitted quietly, his voice barely a whisper as I moved closer to him and pressed my good hand against his cheek, forcing him to look up into my eyes.
“I’m not even a werewolf. I’m human.”
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THOUGHTS?????
I know this was kinda a boring chapter, with all of the dialogue and the police report and the hospital stuff but it was necessary. You guys couldn't have lived without some answers, right?! haha I hope this chapter cleared up most of last chapter's questions (how Psycho Derek did what he did, where the pack was, what happened to Chris, what happened to the twins, where Derek was, how chris got mysterious werewolf powers, etc) but if it didnt PLEASE let me know and ill be happy to answer any of your questions!
so OMG DEREK IS HUMAN NOW :o :o !!!!!!!! what do you think?!?!?! AHHHH also i thought it was kinda cute how peter helped derek heal chris, idk i just liked that. also what do you guys think of brooke and axel and the whole training thing? is it an appropriate way for chris to react after the attack? by now we've gotten to know most of the wolves in the pack, at least kind of, except brooke and axel, so i decided to take their similar personalities and give them a storyline with chris. ive got some good stuff planned with them (and with the pack more of the focus for the rest of this book) so i hope you're excited! also dont worry, there will be more on chris's reaction to being raped, and more about the twins next chapter, i promise.
anyway PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT! i love you for it. and again, since i'm in london, i'm five hours ahead of the states, which means my whole schedule is all messed up. sooo i will try to update again by wednesday or thursday (sorry :/ ) and I CANT WATCH TEEN WOLF TONIGHT SO NO SPOILERS IF YOU CAN :D THANKS! pic of the beautiful chris hemsworth, who plays axel in this story, on the right over there! thanks for reading xoxoxox