𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 | derek hale [ON HOLD]

63 | t i m e o f d e a t h

I race to the hospital. The last update I had gotten from Derek was that Melissa woke Braeden up. As far as I know, they're still there.

I can hear Melissa and Deaton in the hospital, and I follow their voices. I race down the hall and hear Braeden's voice too as well as heavy panting.

"It's a surface wound, so you'll heal in no time," I hear Melissa say. "I'm assuming Hana knows how to help you with this?"

"She's well-versed. This happens every week," I hear Derek chuckle.

Derek's wounded?

I burst into the room, shocking everyone.

My eyes well with tears when I see the state of my mate. His shirt is off, revealing a large white bandage on his side. The scent of blood suffocates the room and I spot a pair of stitching supplies on the nearby counter. It's when I see the bloodied bullet that I allow myself to lapse into hysterics.

"Hey, hey, I'm all right," Derek gets up from the hospital bed and pulls me into his arms. I sob into his chest, and he rests his chin on the top of my head. "The bullet barely grazed me."

"Don't act so nonchalant about this, Derek!" I cry into his chest. "The last time you got shot, you almost died," I remind him. "Stiles was milliseconds away from cutting your arm off."

"Deaton and Melissa were able to get it out and stitch it up without any hiccups. I'm fine, Hana," he assures me. "I'm perfectly fine."

I take a couple sobering breaths, and I feel myself calm down a bit. "Sorry," I sniff, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "I just found out about the dead pool and I got really scared." Melissa and Deaton have understanding looks, but Derek looks confused.

"They cracked the last part of the dead pool? What was the final key?" He asks.

"You didn't tell him?" I gawk at the adults.

"We were kind of busy dealing with Braeden, Satomi, and the werewolf-killing disease," Melissa points out.

"Right. Sorry," I mumble. "Thank you guys. For everything." I sigh. "Without you, we would all be dead in the Hale vault. So thank you. Truly." I turn to Derek and squeeze him tightly, but careful not to bother the wound. "I'm thankful this one was just dipped in wolfsbane. You'll be able to heal from this easily. By tomorrow, you'll be good as new." I feel Derek's muscle tense. I glance up to see him and Braeden share a tense look. When he notices me staring, his face shifts back to normal, stoic Derek.

"What was on the dead pool?" He asks.

"Liam. He's worth $2 million." My soul hurts at the fact. "Oh, and Collette is in Beacon Hills and is a supernatural, apparently." Derek's brows raise at that. "Yep. Worth 5 million. I need to call her later and force her to explain. And..." I trial off, a lump forming in my throat at the last news.