𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍, derek hale ✓

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

┏━━━━⋆°.☾⋆.ೃ࿔*:⋆━━━━┓

WHO IS SCREAMING?

EMERSON NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D BE THANKFUL FOR ALLISON ARGENT'S PRESENCE.

The blonde was not forgetful by any means, and the scene in the warehouse a few months ago where she'd hurt Isaac was something that played in her memory most nights. She didn't like her, not one bit, but she appeared with her flash-bang arrows like she was heaven sent.

"Your eyes— cover your eyes!"

The flash-bang arrows detonated around the alpha pack, and Emerson felt herself being tugged downward by the hand that was still painstakingly gripped onto her arm. She realized that the mind behind her had pulled them both down, and whereas he wasn't overly bothered by the light, Emerson would be if she looked directly at it.

The siding of the escalator provided them shield enough, as the bursts of light gave Scott and the others a chance to get back onto their feet with newfound determination in their step.

She peered forward, catching sight of Scott rushing at Ennis. When they collided, it sent both of them tumbling back a few steps.

Emerson felt something shift in her bones, her body detecting that something in the air had shifted in a way that had her own eyes flickering. Scott raised his head, facing Ennis once more, and only then did the girl realize his eyes were a stark red. 

She did a double take, checking to see if Ennis was still upright, and he was. Scott hadn't killed the alpha, nor did the alpha willingly surrender his own abilities due to his own eyes remaining the same.

There was no fucking way.

Emerson blanched when his eyes went back to their dull beta hue. "Did he just—"

Deucalion raised a hand, stopping her from asking the obvious question. In everyone's moment of curiosity, they missed the way Derek crept up on Ennis and swung.

It was a violent dance between the two, and Emerson couldn't help but rise to her feet. This time, Deucalion didn't root her in place, almost like he was expecting her to behave— to stay put.

And like a child who had a punishment on the line, she found herself not wavering forward a single inch. Though, her eyes were zeroed in on the Hale man with laser-like focus, cataloguing his every move against the hulking figure that was Ennis.

She always thought Derek was a good fighter, though she'd never say it aloud to prevent his already large ego from being boosted even more. But Ennis had years of savagery under his belt, and it showed in the way he fought ruthlessly.

They were stumbling toward a drop in the floor, and Emerson was relieved to see Scott sneaking up behind Ennis, slashing at his leg.

Her moment of relief vanished almost entirely when Ennis' stance wavered due to the injury, teetering toward the edge with his hands still on Derek. And in a single, nauseating second, both alphas went falling through the hole that dropped into the lower level of the mall.

Distantly, she heard somebody scream.

A familiar scream, because it was her own.

ೃ࿔*:⋆

For some reason, the minute the deafening silence crept through the abandoned mall was the minute Emerson's body turned numb. It had stayed in such a way the entire time Kali dragged her body to the exit, all while the twins went to retrieve Ennis' body.

It stayed in such a way until she found herself shoved into the room she was staying in at the penthouse, barely letting out a grunt of disapproval at Kali's manhandling before Deucalion stood in the doorway. There was commotion in the next room, the smell of blood in the air.

"So, what did we learn tonight?"

Emerson scoffed. "That you're an asshole who destroys everything in his path."

"I prefer the term Demon Wolf who destroys everything in his path," he commented with a small smirk, like he thought he was being funny in that moment. "Though, I hope you realize that I would've let him go... the others, not so much."

"Yeah, I'm sure they just magically thought of showing up all on their own," she spat with a heavy eye roll.

Deucalion shook his head. "No matter... I've set my eyes upon some newer potential."

He was talking about Scott. "You can't," she snapped. "Can't we just go already? Can't you find someone else somewhere else to obsess over?"

Deucalion made a tsking noise. "That's not a part of our little agreement," he stated, throwing the fact back in her face. "I believe your exact words were to lay off the Hale pack."

Her eyes narrowed. "It was a generalization to leave them alone, you fart. Aka, the exact opposite of bringing the others to that stupid meet up."

"You should have been more specific," he said with an unimpressed tone. "Besides, soon Scott will be the alpha of his own pack, and as far as I'm concerned, Derek's dead."

Emerson heard his heart give a little uptick. "You don't even believe that."

"Maybe not," he sighed as he waved a hand. "Though, I'd trust that you'd be able to find him if he was alive."

Deucalion wanted her to find Derek while the others went in search of help to heal Ennis. "I wouldn't be able to," she remarked just a little too quickly.

She hoped the quickness of it would mask the way she felt her own heartbeat flutter, but the smirk on the man's face told her otherwise. "Now who's the liar?" he asked, cane extending with a sharp crack that almost made her flinch. "While we take care of Ennis, I suggest you start your pursuit."

"And if I don't?" she challenged, crossing her arms over her chest. Deucalion so clearly wanted her help in finding Derek— the same Derek who might be on the brink of death somewhere in town.

"Then I would advise you to tread very lightly around the others," he responded, going to make his way toward the commotion. "You know, for Hannah's sake."

There he was again, dangling Hannah's life over her like a chew toy he'd stolen. Taunting; he was taunting her and using Hannah as a way to punish her. Deucalion would leave her be, but it was clear the others would certainly not. It was a deal between her and Deucalion, not between her and their entire pack.

"Am I clear?" he asked, posing one last question before he disappeared from frame.

Emerson closed her eyes for a beat, wishing that maybe she hadn't been so hasty in striking up a deal. She wished that maybe she'd been more precise in her wording, but then again, how could she have known Deucalion enjoyed finding loopholes?

Though, he was letting her out of his sight for the first time in days, to find Derek nonetheless. She wanted to deny it, but she had grown to know the Hale man in these last few months; and a part of her would know where to look first.

Was it too late to make things right? 

"Understood."

⋆°.☾⋆.ೃ࿔*:⋆

[ wyn's note ]

bit if a shorter one but next chap will be long!!

also when i mentioned there would be a teeny bit of canon divergence here, this is one way of me fulfilling that LOLOL derek cannot be 0-2 when it comes to being manipulated by someone he liked, so the whole derek n jennifer thing ain't here cause this man already has enough going on

thanks for 48k!! emmy's trying to get her shit sorted— let's hope it works LOL xx