Forbidden Hidden Love (Teen Wolf)(Book 2)

Chapter 22

Derek flipped through the pages of a book before closing it. He set it down on a stack and picked up another book, opening it.

He looked up briefly before turning around to face Erica and Boyd. "You decided," he stated. "When?"

"Tonight," Erica answered.

"Everyone's gonna be at the game," Boyd added. "And we figured it was the best time."

"It's not like we want to," she finished.

Derek took a step forward. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Since I just turned 16 a month ago, I wouldn't mind getting my license," she replied. "I can't do that if I'm dead, you know."

"Well, I told you there was a price."

"You didn't say it would be like this," Boyd told him.

"Yeah, but I told you how to survive. You do it as a pack. And you're not a pack without an alpha," he finished, turning away.

"We know," Boyd said, making Derek turn back around to face them.

"You wanna look for another pack," Derek said, making Erica look away uncomfortably. "How are you even gonna find one?"

"We think we already did," Boyd answered. "Besides, you've got still got Isaac and Fi, neither of which who are here. Why isn't she here, Derek?"

"Because nobody suspects Fi. Nobody else knows she's a werewolf. She's safe. And Isaac has been managing to keep his head down."

"She'd be safer here, don't you think?" Erica asked.

"No, I feel she'd be more at risk, because then Scott would know and that's the last thing I need him telling Gerard. Besides, I trust her to keep her head down. Anyways, what makes you think you found another pack?"

"We heard this howling. It was unbelievable," Erica said.

"There must have been a dozen of them," Boyd added.

"Maybe more," she put in.

"Yeah, or maybe only two," Derek said, cutting them both off. "You know what the beau geste effect is? If they modulate their howls with a rapid shift in tone, 2 wolves can sound like 20."

"Look, that doesn't matter, okay?" Erica answered. "There's another pack out there. There's got to be. We've made up our minds."

"We lost, Derek," Boyd finished. "And it's over. We're leaving."

"No." Derek shook his head. "No, you're running. And once you start, you don't stop. You'll always be running."

That still didn't seem to stop the two, because Erica grabbed Boyd's hand before they left.

Derek turned around and picked up a piece of mirror. He stared at his reflection for half a second before turning and throwing it at Peter who caught it.

"I expected a slightly warmer welcome," his uncle said. "But point taken. It's quite a situation you've got yourself in here, Derek. I mean, I'm out of commission for a few weeks and suddenly there's lizard people, geriatric psychopaths, and you're cooking up werewolves out of every self-esteem-deprived adolescent in town."

"What do you want?" Derek asked, glaring at him.

"Well, I want to help," Peter stated. "You're my nephew. One relative that I have left. You know, there's still a lot that I can teach you." He walked up to Derek and put his hand on his shoulder. "Can we just talk?"

Derek looked down at Peter's hand. "Sure. Let's talk."

Next thing Peter knew he was thrown against the staircase railing.

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Fionnuala and Isaac met up at the animal clinic where they entered and were greeted by Dr. Deaton. They went into the back with them and were all standing over a dog that was lying on the table in the middle of the room.

"Why does it smell like that?" Isaac asked. Dr. Deaton gave a small laugh, making Isaac look at him. "What?"

"Scott said almost the same thing to me a few months ago. One day he could somehow tell the difference between which animals were getting better and which were not."

"He's not getting better, is he?" Isaac added, making the vet shake his head. "Like cancer."

"Osteosarcoma. It has a very distinct scent, doesn't it?" Dr. Deaton asked, making Scott nod. He looked over at Isaac, who was still looking at the dog. "Come here. I know you're well aware what your new abilities can do for you. Improved strength, speed, and healing. You ever wonder what it could do for others? Give me your hand. Go on." He placed Isaac's hand on the dog and, for a few seconds, you could see what looked like black liquid going up his arm in his veins.

"What did I do?" the young sophomore asked.

"You took some of his pain away," Scott explained. 

"Only a little bit," Dr. Deaton added. "But sometimes a little bit can make quite a difference."

Fionnuala reached over and rubbed Isaac's back as he teared up.

"It's okay," Scott assured him. "First time he showed me, I cried too."

Isaac glanced over at Fionnuala who smiled at him before he looked over at Scott and the vet with a smile on his own face. 

A few minutes later, as Scott was packing up the medicine into the cabinet, Isaac spoke up. "They're leaving tonight, during the game."

Fionnuala looked up in alarm, as Scott finished and closed the door. "So, why are you telling me?"

"I'm not telling you. I'm asking you. I'm asking for your advice."

"From me? Why?" Scott asked.

"Because I trust you."

"Why?"

"Because you always seem to want to do the right thing."

"I usually have no idea what I'm doing. Actually I always have no idea what I'm doing."

"Hm. Do you wanna let me know what you're doing right now?" Isaac replied.

"I'm not going anywhere, if that's what you mean. I have too many people here who need me."

"Well, I guess that makes me lucky, cause, uh, cause I don't have anyone, so." Isaac shrugged.

"Are you gonna go with them?" Scott asked, as Isaac and Fionnuala started heading for the exit.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I will," Isaac replied. "Good luck with the game."

"Thanks, but I'm not going either. Can't even think about playing some meaningless game right now."

"You weren't at practice last week, were you?" Isaac asked.

"No, I skipped it. Why?" Scott answered.

"And you didn't hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Jackson was there."

"What do you mean there? Like he was-"

"Like nothing had happened."

"Really? That means - the game tonight?"

"Yeah. He's playing."

At that, Fionnuala and Isaac finally left.

"When were you gonna tell me?" she asked him. "About the pack leaving?"

"Not everyone. Derek's staying behind. He wouldn't leave you. He wouldn't dream of it."