𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍, derek hale ✓

𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

┏━━━━⋆°.☾⋆.ೃ࿔*:⋆━━━━┓

CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT

"WELL DON'T JUST STAND THERE; HELP ME GET IT OUT!"

"You're squirming around too much— hold still."

When the mini battle that ensued on the subway carriage ceased, the wolves having clearly tired themselves out, Emerson was still complaining about the pain in her lower back.

Upon asking Derek, aka the only coherent one among them, to investigate, he said there was some sort of shrapnel lodged in her skin— stuck and preventing the wound from closing. She begged him to just rip it out, that she could handle it, but apparently she'd been too squirmy.

"Just do it already!" she seethed, the pain now developing into mere discomfort. "Just do it before I—"

She yelped when he roughly pulled the metal shard from her back, and the minute she felt the wound begin to close was the minute she spun on her heel to face him. Slapping him on the bicep, it was his turn to shout in her direction. "The hell was that for?"

"That was for not giving me a three second heads-up, shitbrain!"

"You didn't ask for a heads-up, you brat!"

"Maybe I would've if you hadn't just—"

"—uh, guys?" Their heads snapped towards the rumbled voice that belonged to Isaac. The boy held a bloody wrist out, some type of chain dangling from it that Emerson hadn't realized was still attached to him. "A little help here?"

Derek was the first one forward, undoing the clasps upon recognizing his regular heartbeat. He seemed fine, Emerson thought as her eyes investigated his form, but his wolfy features still remained.

"You okay?" she asked, and upon locking eyes with him, she felt her own heat up for a split second. It all felt like deja vu, nauseatingly so.

"Yeah," he mumbled out, his gaze leaving hers and instead focusing forward. "Yeah I'm okay."

"Looks like you found an anchor," Derek concluded, and the blonde girl found herself agreeing. Sure, she might've given him a little push, but any seasoned werewolf knew that you had to have an anchor to keep your cool for as long as he had.

"My father," Isaac answered, albeit a little softly.

Emerson's eyebrows furrowed on their own. "Your dad?" she asked, blinking in confusion. The dad that had been nothing but cruel to him— that dad?

"Your father locked you in a freezer in a basement to punish you," Derek stated, still working to undo the chain, as though it was common fact.

Maybe it was common fact to them, but to Emerson? The girl's face twisted up, nausea bubbling in her stomach. What kind of father would do something like that to their own child?

"He didn't use to."

Emerson's shoulders deflated.

ೃ࿔*:⋆

The Avery girl was just on her way out, Derek following just behind her as they exited the dingy subway carriage. She expected him to let her walk without another word, for her job here was done, but that wasn't the case.

"Thank you."

Emerson turned, facing him and watching with acute precision as to how he approached her once more, stopping just a few feet in front of her. "Pardon?"

"You didn't have to come but you did," he went on to add, looking down at her unblinkingly, "so, thank you."

It was sort of like he was biting out the words, forcing them to come out. Obviously, he hadn't said thank you many times in his life, and that alone made Emerson want to snicker.

Though, she curbed the urge, only offering him a small nod. "Sure," she said, accepting his gratitude. "I'll admit, it was nice to do something other than pace my room."

Derek's head tilted slightly, his own arms crossing over his chest. "You do that a lot? Pace during the full moon?"

"I used to when I was a kid," she answered with a shrug. "Not so much any more... except for tonight, I guess."

After a beat of silence, Derek gave his two cents on her predicament. "It's your inner Alpha," he told her, leaning against the wall of the subway carriage, "it gets restless without a pack."

Emerson swallowed around nothing at his statement. "And you know this how?"

"I felt the same when I took the power from my uncle. Like an itch you can't scratch." And fuck, hadn't that made Emerson take a sharp inhale. "It's longing."

Her chin was raised in defiance. "I don't really long for things, Hale," she disregarded with a shake of the head. "On second thought, I long for some peace and quiet these days."

"It wouldn't be so restless if you joined me," he said, and Emerson could already feel annoyance enter her lungs. 

"Can't you get it through your thick skull?" she huffed, tossing her arms at her sides. "No thanks."

Derek rolled his eyes. "So you've said," he muttered to himself, yet she could hear it clear as day in her ears, "but I can't figure out why. I can't figure you out."

In Derek's mind, he had no idea how a lone wolf could reject an offer to join a pack— let alone a lone Alpha, of all things. Her insistence on being by herself made no sense to him. He couldn't figure it out, and Isaac was of zero help considering he also had no idea why she'd denied Derek's offer.

But Emerson grinned triumphantly, because that phrase was like a compliment in her eyes. The less people who knew her, the better. And hell, if the Miller girl hadn't figured her out yet, Derek Hale of all people sure as shit wasn't even close to doing so.

"Not many people can," she brushed off, her smile widening at the flat look he tossed her way. "It's what makes me so cool and mysterious, y'know?"

He chuckled, a sound she couldn't help but catalogue. "I'm sure I could figure it out." He sounded a little cocky, a little too self-assured in a way that she thought was amusing.

"I'll be the first to throw you a party if you do," she laughed, though she immediately rubbed at her throat to clear it. Her face took a neutral turn, mimicking the one now present on the man's face. "Good luck with your betas— you'll need it."

She went to turn, went to leave, before Derek was holding her arm back. Her mouth opened to question him before she followed his heavily confused line of sight.

Was that... fucking Lydia Martin?

The strawberry blonde opened her palm near her lips, blowing on what looked like a fine blue powder.

And suddenly, the world went dark.

⋆°.☾⋆.ೃ࿔*:⋆

[ wyn's note ]

cliff hanger!!! i'm full of updates td yall omg WHO AM I

emmy's mysterious and derek needs to figure her out (but shall he or shall he not ?!?!) all that + a lil banter that never killed nobody!!

all my love x