Beneath The surface/ Teen Wolf fanfiction

A wolf's hunch

The immense window in Derek's loft gave way to a magnificent view over the town. Derek stood hands in pockets, in front of the glass, watching as the day neared its end. And although captivated by the beautiful sight ahead, he could still hear the voices talking behind him. They weren't as loud as they were clear, for one of the people he'd expected to stand against his decisions, wasn't even part of that conversation.

Indeed, when Derek turned around, all he saw was a busy looking Kali, bent over a fairly large sheet of paper that seemed to consume all of her focus. Boyd, clearly intrigued by the thin, gray lines that she was outlining on her white canvas. Arms folded, he only used his chin to point at the drawing, "So, this is the plan of the mansion?" said Boyd.

Kali halted all activity, she lifted her head slightly, just so she could gaze at him with annoyance, "It will be... If you let me finish it," she said calmly but without a kind tone.

As Derek was walking towards the two of them, he caught a glimpse of Erica from the corner of his eye. She'd kept herself away from everyone else in the room. Without realizing it, Derek had changed the direction he was moving into, he went and sat beside Erica instead. She didn't seem to mind, in fact, she didn't seem to notice his presence near her at all. Eyes on Kali, she was barely blinking. Derek thought she'd found a way to drown her anxiety through biting her nails. She wasn't frantic but she reeked of consternation.

"Why? Just tell me why," before Derek could say anything, Erica beat him to the mark. It appeared she knew he was near her after all, "Every time I look at her, I see a disaster begging to fall on our heads and then...," she trailed off.

"And then what?" he asked.

"And then, i look at you. You're so confident about this... About her. It just drives me crazy," Erica finished her pending sentence. She was oddly calm. Derek almost didn't recognize her, "Just tell me you have a reason to trust her beyond a simple hunch," she continued.

Derek felt a stab of guilt in the guts. He had absolutely no words to offer, none that would put her concerns to rest at the very least. And when he took too long to come up with an answer, Erica decided that she didn't like the silence around them, "Do you remember the last time you and I talked? Before I died, I mean,"

"Yeah, it wasn't much of a conversation. But I remember clearly, you said that you wanted to live your life and that there were many things you still wanted to do," he said.

"I had just turned sixteen and I was terrified. It didn't matter how much you warned me and explained to me in details how dangerous it was going to be before you gave me the bite...,"

"The grass is always greener," once again, Derek had finished her sentence for her.

"My point is, on that day, we should have listened to you. We should've stayed in Beacon Hills, with you. Instead, I went ahead and gotten myself killed," she said. Her eyes finally set Kali's figure free from her gaze and drifted towards Derek, "I know that I was brought back for a specific purpose, and I don't even know if I'll still be alive when all of this is over, if I ever live to see the end of it. But if there is even the tiniest chance that I get to live and finally do what I wanted to do all those years ago then... I'd like to take that chance,"

"You don't want to make the same mistake as before, but you're not sure if you can trust me. Is that it?" he asked.

"I don't trust her. And yes, if there's something I definitely don't need a do over for, it's the mistake that led me to my death but... Every time I look at her... My gut screams at me to just kill her," she explained.

Derek was ready to share a bit of his mind on the subject of Kali, but Boyd's voice called for their attention at that moment, indicating that Kali had finished with the drawing of the plan. Both Derek and Erica stood up and moved towards the table holding the light sheet on its top.

"You drew this?" that was the first thing Erica had thought to ask.

"Yeah, why? I know the lines look straighter and certainly more defined than your future but... I digress," retorted kali.

"Actually, I was thinking...,"

"How many entry points are there?" Derek had cut Erica off promptly in order to move things forward at a faster pace.

When Kali's attention was finally fully on him, she answered, "In total, and if I exclude the windows on the ground floor, there are five of them,"

"Wait, why is this one so far from the mansion?" asked Boyd, pointing at a specific zone on the plan.

"That's the entrance of the second basement. It is also accessible from inside the mansion of course, but it's irrelevant if you have to get inside the manor first," said Kali.

"So, it's about fifty feet southeast from the building. And this one is a... Green house?" asked Derek.

"Guess they're into gardening and stuff," commented Erica.

"They have a druid on the team. Where do you think she gets her precious, rare plants for those stupid rituals? Do you think she wastes her time looking around the woods or something? Seriously, what is the point from you being here? Aside from the unnecessary commentary," Kali never did mince her words before spiting them out. She knew that and she always expected responses on par with her own level of hostility, especially from someone like Erica. Only, to her and everyone else's surprise, Erica just looked at Derek shortly, before turning and walking away.

"Where to?" asked Boyd.

"Just let me know when we're ready to go," said Erica without a glance behind her back.

Derek followed her figure with his eyes, until she disappeared behind a wall, and then turned back towards the sheet of paper; he took a deep breath, "So, we can also move through the green house to access the mansion,"

"What's this room? You marked it like the other entrances, but it's clear it isn't one," said Boyd.

"No, it's not an entrance. This is the room where Euriella often spends most of her days... And nights for that matter,"

"What? She doesn't sleep?" Boyd was again curious.

"I actually can't say for sure,"she said, "The first basement is where they keep the longtails and the berserkers, usually," she added.

"What about the second basement?" asked Derek.

"I have no idea; I was never granted access to it. In fact, I know that nobody on the team has access to it, except for Jennifer," she paused, but seeing the look Derek was giving her, she quickly continued, "From what I heard of the apprentice, if Jennifer was given access to that zone, it has to be because he found a use for her powers in there, that's it. It's definitely not because he has higher estime for her," she stated.

Just then, Derek saw his hand hover over his pocket in order to pick his buzzing phone out of it. He stared at the screen for a little while, before looking back up at Kali and Boyd, "All the teams have designated their leaders. I should send them pictures of the plan now,"

"Right, my work here is done. I should get back to the mansion for now," said Kali as she walked towards the exit door.

"You're going back there?" Boyd seemed confused by her decision and perhaps even a tad worried.

"Relax, Anas is still there, he doesn't even know I am here. I have to talk to him," she said and just like Erica, both men followed her with their eyes until she disappeared behind the closing door.