Devil of Wolves (Sterek)

Chapter Fifteen (Skin & Bones)

!!!!You don't have to read this chapter!!!!!

This is a very long info dump of Derek's backstory because I was too lazy to spread it out and crammed it all here. It's seriously long. But I really enjoyed writing this, it's one of my favorites, so I hope if you have time you can come back and read it someday ♡︎

You can skip this and the next chapter will pick up where the previous one left off if you want to stay strictly to the Stiles/Derek part.

^^^^^

New York City - 5 years earlier

Derek followed behind his uncle as they descended the grimy stairs, past the door that led them here from the ally.

Tension steamrolled through his gut the farther down they traveled, the dimmer the lights got, the louder the scuffle of rat's feet inside the walls became, and the lack of any other sound he could hear below.

Peter seemed oblivious to his nerves, or more accurately he just didn't care. He took the stairs step by step like he had done it a hundred times over and soon they were facing a large metal door at the bottom and a long hallway stretched out on either side. A middle-aged woman was standing at the entrance, a hideous fur scarf was draped around her shoulders.

Her dull eyes watched them step closer like she was waiting for them to tuck tail and run any second. It was a look that meant trouble.

Derek felt stupid cowering behind his uncle, and he tried to cool his expression when the short woman's eyes stared into his soul.

"Party of two?" Her scratchy voice purred.

She guarded the door like a dragon guarding its keep and while her posture seemed harmless, there was something off-putting about it—an underlying danger. Water dripped steadily from the ceiling, forming a small puddle beside the stairs that seemed to roar in the silence.

Peter's calm voice cut in, "We're the Hales. I was told they've been expecting us."

They, Derek didn't like that word at all. It made him want to scoff at his uncle, name-dropping them like they were some important people in such a big city, but this made the woman's smile turn sharp and she jutted her chin out at them.

"Let me see."

The sharp elbow that rammed into his gut had Derek spurring himself into action. He flashed his yellow eyes along with his uncle's shady blue, proof enough that they weren't human and her grin became no less hungry and smug.

"You've got no phones or cameras on you, right?" She asked and her laser eyes moved across their bodies up and down.

"All clear, darling."

She hummed like she already knew the answer. "Right this way then, gentlemen," she said sweetly and knocked twice on the door behind her. The sound echoed in the empty space as it swung open with a groan.

He could see movement on the other side, heads and flashing lights peaking out just below another shorter set of stairs.

Derek forced himself to follow once more after Peter who stepped through confidently, thanking the woman. Immediately after crossing the threshold, it was as if cotton was pulled from their ears and the loud noises suddenly bombarded them like crashing waves.

It was like stepping into another world. One he was ill-prepared for.

Derek stood beside Peter, following just beside his shoulder as they moved into the large room. He stood in the basement of the leading hotel with his worn tennis shoes, cheap jacket, and jeans that made him look like an outsider, a child, among such finely dressed folks.