Takes place after Teen Wolf Season 2
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A queen's judgement
"We have to figure this out Derek." Scott said as he tried to talk to the Alfa that held his back to him.
"We don't have to figure anything out, Scott. If you want to figure things out go talk to your good friend Gerard." Derek said seething with anger. The beta had betrayed him in the worst way possible. He had endangered his pack.
"What are you talking about?" Scott asked worried that the cat was out of the bag.
"You are no part of my pack anymore and so you are no longer my problem. Go hang with your buddies the Argents" Derek said and turned his back on him again.
"What? So now you're throwing me out of the pack?" Scott asked surprised.
"As a matter of fact, yes. Yes, I am throwing you out of my pack. I hereby abjure you, Omega." Derek said to give his words extra strength.
"Come on Scott I don't think he wants to help if he ever wanted to help us in the first place." Stiles said and tried to pull Scott with him.
At that moment a young woman walked into the house. Derek growled for being intruded jet again. He took a sniff to see who it was. As he recognised the smell he immediately spun around. As he saw the woman he fell to his knees and bowed his head.
"Who would have thought that a women could bring Derek to his knees." Stiles said trying to lighten the mood, but held his hands up in surrender as Scott looked at him with a 'what the hell man' look.
"Derek, who is that?" Scott asked worried as he saw Derek kneeling in submission tot the new presence in the room.
"It has been a long time Derek Hale." The woman said with a voice that held to mush wisdom for here young age.
"Aconitum, how can I serve you." Derek said with a respectful voice, which made the others look surprised.
"I am here to speak just. I heard the hunters have abandoned the code. And that the laws of the pack have been disgraced." The girl said with an even voice as if she was discussing the weather.
"Who told you?" Derik asked worried.
"I have ears in many places. So tell me who betrayed the trust of the pack." She asked with a hint of venom in her voice.
"It is taken care of. I abjured him." Derek said without looking at her.
"You do know that now that my mother is death I hold the authority. And therefore it is a crime to lie to me." She said with an even voice and a worried expression on here face.
"I am sorry, Aconitum."
"Just tell me Derek and I will allow you to decide his punishment." She said. For the first time since she said why she came there was a glint of hope in his expression. Which disappeared the moment she added: "If his betrayal does not go to deep, that is."
"This is a matter of the pack, no outsider should stand witness." Derek tried.
"Very well then. Out all of you out!" She said very calm. But turned around and whispered so only Scott and Derek could hear: "But don't run to far Omega. We will have to talk later."
Scott's POV
"Who was that woman? I have never seen Derek so worried or submissive. He's like afraid of her." Stiles said worried as he and Scott walked out of the old Hale house.
"I have no idea but he is scared of here, but it's more than that he's like scared of what she can do. I don't understand."
"Well let's see how this tunes out." Stiles said as they waited in the car out of hearing distance.
Derek's POV
Aconitum sat down on one of the not broken stairs and smiled at Derek.
Derek got up and said: "It is really good to see you again, Aconitum. And I am sorry for your loss. I would have come, but ..."
"I understand, I am sorry for your loss as well. She didn't deserve it none of them did. The Argents are losing their mind and the only man who sees it is powerless against them. His mind is too clouded with grief and love to see their true faces. Soon I'll have no choice but to make a stand. Some of the more conservative packs are already questioning my authority." She said with a bitter laugh.
"They want you to lift the rule? To answer the war declaration the hunters have been sending us." Derek asked confused.
"They want revenge! The death Argent girl, Kate, she slaughtered a couple packs farther up north and one in Europe, a very old one. They were seen as nobles among our kind, had been around for centuries. She had some help from the older one of course, Gerard. I don't know what they think that killing him will do. Will they really feel so mush better afterwards? We wouldn't be any better than the animals they expect us to be. I know that my reign won't last long, but if I must die so young than I want to do it with a clear conscience. I won't turn my back on the rules my family stood for."
"You sound like you're already death." Derek said.
"Face it Derek. I don't have long. I'm barely twenty-two, I have no mate so no heirs and my mother was brutally slaughtered by a hunter. I won't fool myself we are on the eve of war. And I still stand by the laws. Our enemy has violated our laws. They won't wait long before they try to overrule me."
"They would be fools." Derek said.
Aconitum smiled up at him and said: "So that new Omega betrayed you? Why?"
"Back to business?" Derek asked. "My best guess is that Gerard was threatening someone he cares for; Alison, his mom, Stiles ... Who knows, he seems to think he's responsible for everyone who lives in this stupid town." Derek said frustrated.
"So he betrayed you and the pack, because someone outside of the pack was threatened?" Aconitum asked not understanding.
"Yes." Derek responded reluctantly.
"Derek the pack comes first, always!"
"I know that, but Scott hasn't been a werewolf for as long as I have. He's very new at this. He doesn't know all the rules. And I know that he betrayed me, but he did what he thought was right. I should not have believed that he wanted to be part of my pack all of a sudden." Derek said.
"You're defending him. I don't understand it, but I see that it is important to you that I do not kill him. I will place him under your care. You will educate him in the rules and ways of our kind. But I have to punish him in some way. The rules are the rules."
"I understand, but please take into account that he was tricked into betraying me by Gerard Argent. He's only 16. Gerard has had decades of experience in the field. He knows our weaknesses." Derek pleaded, without having any idea why. Scott had betrayed him, but he still needed him. He still felt responsible for him. 'Dam you Scot McCall.'
"The fact that you still fight for the boy makes me see that you are a great Alpha. Now call the boy."
Derek took out his phone and called Scott. "Hey, can you come back? Do it quickly!" Derek said and ended the conversation. "He's on his way." He said to Aconitum
"Good." She said and got up.
--- A few minutes later ---
"Scott McCall, you have been found guilty of betraying your Alpha and so betraying your pack. You have as a conclusion wronged our law."
"Derek I don't get this, who is she?" Scott asked worried.
"She is Aconitum, the keeper of the law, our queen. She stands above us all. She's the Alpha of Alphas." Derek said without looking at Scott.
"You guys have a queen and we never heard about it?" Stiles said amazed. "You know mister grumpy pants she could have helped us with the whole Alpha-psycho, or the crazy hunter-bitch or what about the Kanima?"
"I asked Derek to take care of that and he did." She answered.
"Yes, so he could become the Alpha! Oh and start tuning minors with a low self esteem." Stiles snorted.
"To create a pack, to become a stronger Alpha so he can protect his pack better. Where is the crime in that?" Aconitum asked not understanding the problem.
"You think that is a good thing?" Stiles asked disgruntled.
"He is the Alpha, is he not? As Alpha it is his first instinct to lead, to be at the head of a pack. A pack he has to protect and in return he gains strength. It is in our nature, to seek out a pack. It is the only way to survive."She explained to Stiles and turned to Scott "Therefore it is the biggest crime to betray it. You Scott McCall have betrayed your Alpha's trust and so you betrayed your pack. You could have endangered all of them. The bound we have with our pack is sacred. Betrayal is punishable by death. However your Alpha has pleaded for your life and I believe that there are certain extenuating circumstances. You are very young and fairly new to this life. So because of that you do not know all of our laws, jet. Derek will teach you. However from this day on you can no longer be a part of his pack. You are reduced to an Omega. Till you learn or till a new pack allows you in. However, deeds as grave as these can never go without punishment. You betrayed the pack and therefore your pack will carry our your punishment. You will relieve the mark of abjuration. Your former Alpha will implement it wile your former pack, or what's still left of it, will stand witness. "
"No, Aconitum, please, there must be something else; 20 lashes from a whip, silver-poisoning. Anything!" Derek protested.
"I am sorry Derek I have spoken." Aconitum answered.
"The mark is eternal, no pack will ever allow him in again. Aconitum, he is only 16." Derek pleaded.
"He is indeed very young. Fine, I allow you to burn it such a way that you can cut it out again. But he has to wear it for at least one year." Aconitum allowed.
"Thank you. It will happen as you say." Derek said relieved.
Aconitum nodded and said; "I have to go now. Take care, Derek."
"You to, Aconitum." Derek said and bowed his head as she walked away.
3th persons POV
"Marked, burned, cut out. What does that even mean, Derek?" Scott asked not understanding. 'What has just happened?'
"I have to burn the mark of abjuration into your body."
"How, does that work?" Stiles wanted to know.
"With a hot iron poke. Afterwards you have to pour in a silver-holding liquid to make it eternal and make the pain last as well. Fortunately for you I changed that. I still have to burn the mark into your skin but at least I won't have to pour the liquid in. You will keep the scar for one year and after that I'll cut it out."
"So will it still hurt?" Stiles asked.
"Of course you flaming imbecile. But at least it won't last." Derek said.
"So when are we doing this?" Scott asked worried.
"The sooner the better. I'll go find the iron poke." Derek said and left.
"This is not good man!" Stiles said.
"You think?" Scott answered. "Derek, why did you say the sooner the better?"
"Because the sooner you receive it the sooner we can remove it." Derek said as he came back with an iron poke. He walked to the fireplace and started a fire. "Stilinski make yourself useful call Isaac."
"Why?" Stiles wondered.
"Because Aconitum, said I had to do this wile my pack witnessed it. Isaac is all that is left of that pack, since Erica and Boyd left and Peter is not jet a part of it." Derek explained.
"Okay, I'm on it." Stiles said.
"What do we do now?" Scott asked.
"We wait for Isaac wile the iron heats." Derek said.
"Where do you place it?"
"You tell me. Normally we place it somewhere visible, but I'm not like that. I think your back will do just fine." Derek said.
"Good he's here and look at that the iron is hot." Derek said as he looked at the poke that was now partly red.
"Why am I here?" Isaac asked as he saw Derek, Scott and Stiles.
"The law orders us to punish Scott for betraying me and our pack. We have to mark him. So do me a favour and keep him down wile I do this." Derek explained putting on a pair of gloves and taking out the poke. "You ready Scott." Derek asked.
Scott simply nodded and colesed his eyes. Derek brought the poke down between Scott's shoulder blades and pushed it till the mark was in place as Scott roared with the pain. As Derek pulled the poke away Scott fell to the floor panting from the extreme pain.
"Well that wasn't so bad now, was it?" Stiles tried to lighten the mood. Everyone in the room looked at him incredulous. "Hey just trying to lighten the mood, guys." Stiles said holding up his hands.
"One year from today you can come back and I'll cut it out. For now I suggest you go to the vet and let him take a look at it." Derek said putting the poke away and walking away.