Devil of Wolves (Sterek)

Chapter Five (One Step Forward, One Step Back)

I liveeeeee! 

Sorry for any and all grammatical errors. 

Warning: Kate and her relationship with Derek while he was underaged is briefly shown in this chapter. It's nothing too graphic but if you don't want to read it skip where it starts in all italics towards the end of the chapter. 

Enjoy!

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Stiles could barely keep his eyes open. The sound of the car engine, thrumming and buzzing against his head as it rested against the window, damn near lulled him to sleep.

Of course, he couldn't actually fall asleep. His brain played the night's events over and over on a loop. A personal torment and he had front-row seats.

He tried to will the thoughts away as best he could. Tried to will the phantom feeling of hands enclosing his throat, cutting off his air supply. He tried to ignore the way his body ached and was jolted with pain every so often. He ignored the tiredness; the wariness that settled deep in his bones.

He ignored Theo's words in his head. Stiles stopped trying to think about what it all meant. Where it all went wrong. What did he do to deserve this? He sends a glance at Cora who's been completely silent as a church mouse from the driver's side.

It didn't escape his notice the way her white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel teetered in intensity every so often.

He didn't dare look her in the face, ignoring the feeling of her eyes also drifting over to his slumped-over form every so often, he remained passive and silent.

Sinking into the smooth interior leather of the car never sounded better.

The drive felt like an eternity, yet when he felt the car slow and the bright lights of a building came into view, Stiles almost became overwhelmed with nervousness.

Why did he let the Hales drag him to their place again, Stiles thought distantly as Cora pulled into the long driveway.

Stiles felt his bloodshot eyes bug out of his head as he stared at the nearby mansion. A mansion. It was like looking at the Whitehouse itself. Smaller of course and illuminated by darkness but Stiles could make out the general shape. It was fucking huge, that much was obvious.

Of course, it was huge. Why did it come as a surprise to him that the Hales were still rich as shit?

"We're here," Cora muttered softly. She turned the key and the engine stalled to a halt.

Stiles sat upright in his seat, ignoring the groan that nearly slipped from his lips as he pressed his bruised back against the Camaros cushion seat.

"Damn," Stiles whispered, and he noted Cora's amused huff. They both exited the car, he limped around to the front where Cora was waiting.

She smiled at him worryingly before extending her arm in invitation and he found himself reaching out for her touch, pushing down the tremor in his hand as it curled around the fabric of her blouse.

They walk on the gravel towards the house, Stiles feels himself stumble every so often but Cora's firm grip on his shoulder and arm keeps him from face-planting into the ground. They make it to the large, medieval-looking door, Cora materializes a key from her pocket and soon enough the door opens with a push of her hand.

Stepping through the doorway was like walking into another dimension; a large staircase lay at the center of the room, covered in red carpet, and pillars of marble stood around the corner of the room. The floor was covered in large carpets overtop the polished wood.