Omega | Derek Hale

01. Prologue

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MADDISON'S feet were aching, but she wouldn't stop running. Her heart was pounding, but all she could hear was the leaves and branches crunching under the pressure of her muddied sneakers.

Her knees were covered in scrapes and bruises, wounds that stung every time her feet hit the ground. Her eyes glanced around frantically, looking for any place to hide. She stumbled over a large tree stump that stood in her path, deciding at the last second to crouch down behind it and use it as cover.

The snap of a twig in the near distance forced her to hold her breath, and squeeze her eyes shut in fear. A hush spread through the woods. Until-

"GOTCHA!" Maddison felt two hands slam down on her shoulders, startling her enough to make her open her eyes wide and squeal in shock.

"No fair! You were cheating again!" The young girl scurried to her feet, turning to face the boy behind her.

He was handsome, with dark features that captivated the girl within seconds of glancing his way. Maddison had to crane her neck in order to meet his dark brown eyes, but to her, the neck pain was undoubtedly worth it.

"I wasn't cheating, Maddie." The boy rolled his eyes, picking out a few leaves from the smaller brunette's hair.

"You were! You were using your-" Maddison paused for a moment, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Wolf powers." She huffed dramatically, crossing her arms over her small torso.

"No, I wasn't. Maybe you just suck at hiding." He smirked, relishing in her annoyed expression. "Come on, let's get you home." He turned his back to her, crouching down so that his back was at her height.

Maddison's grumpy expression slowly shifted into a grin as she realised what he was doing, and wasted no time in scrambling onto his back and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He rarely gave her piggyback rides, mostly because he didn't want to baby the younger girl too much, even though he knew that she loved it.

"Derek." She mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder as he slowly began to trudge his way through the woods.

Derek carefully climbed over the odd fallen tree and ducked under low hanging branches, making sure to keep the girl on his back safe. "Yeah?" He responded casually.

There was a pause, and a comfortable silence until Maddison finally spoke again."Are you gonna marry Paige?" The question was sincere, but the girl's tone was melancholy.

The question seemed to catch Derek off-guard, as his eyes widened in dismay. "I dunno, Maddie. It's a little early for that." He tried to laugh it off, but her expression was earnest.

Maddison hummed, taking a moment to consider his response. "If you do, can you promise that you won't forget me?" She pleaded, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.

"I'll never forget you. I'll be with you forever." He gently squeezed her legs as he held them around his waist, doing his best to give her reassurance.

"Forever and ever?" Maddison added, hopeful. She kept her gaze on the side of his face, waiting for his true reaction.

Derek turned his head to smile at her. "Forever and ever."

LIAR.