HIRAETH° teen wolf

III. truth be told

⭐️

Star walked after Stiles into the house and her doe eyes wandered around the interior. Almost everything was burnt to the ground. Her childhood- burnt to the ground. Her breath hitched and her fists clenched, nails digging into her palms.

Hearing the creaks of the stairs, the three teens looked over to see Derek Hale walk down towards them with something small and furry in his hand. A stuffed animal.

Derek stood in front of Star. He held out the rusty, grey wolf.

"Here. Do you remember this?"

Star shook her head while taking it from him.

"Look at it. I need you to remember, Star. Think. What was his name?"

"I don't know-"

"You do." Derek began, "I know you do. Remember, Star. You've had this since you were a baby, your dad bought you it. You wouldn't sleep without it. It was your favourite thing ever. You said you named it after your favourite person-"

"Ricky," Star whispered, eyes glued to the teddy. She slowly glanced up, "I called it Ricky... I named it after you."

Derek slowly nodded while the two other boys remained shocked. "You did."

"I still don't remember much," she swallowed.

"What do you remember?"

"Growing up with you. And... Your sisters? One was older than you and..." Star trailed off as Derek nodded.

"Do you know her name?"

"I remember a name-... Cora?"

Derek corrected her, "Laura."

"I remember another girl. Around my age. I was with her when the fire started."

Derek nodded, hopefully, "That was Cora, my younger sister."

Star looked at her older cousin with sad eyes, "Did she not...?"

His jaw clenched momentarily as he shook his head, "She never made it out of the fire."

Star sucked in a breath. Then, her eyes widened. "Aunt Thalia."

Derek looked down at her, "What."

"I remember her- Aunt Thalia. The fire, when I escaped I came back in for her. I could hear her- her screams, a-and I, I just wanted to save her. I'm sorry." Star blinked the hot tears pooling in her hazel eyes.

Derek turned his head to the side, momentarily, "It's not your fault, Star. I'm just glad you're okay."

They shared a sad smile.

"I remember you, too," Star whispered.

Derek furrowed his brows in anticipation.

"You were my favourite person. My best friend. We played pranks and annoyed everyone together. You taught me how to ride a bike and you dressed up as a princess for my birthday. You were my big brother and we were happy. I loved you," She smiled and then frowned. "What happened to us, Derek? What happened to our family? This- this can't be real."