Hunger

Chapter Twenty-Three

Stiles

I walked slowly down the dimly lit hallway, dragging my feet and sighing. I was supposed to be getting coffee for my boss and for the rest of the coven, but I wasn't particularly feeling work today. Something felt different for some reason. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something was wrong. Something was missing.

When I turned the corner into another hallway, I jumped back at the sudden impact. I hesitantly looked up, met by the cold eyes of my boss. "Sorry, Sir. I was just going to-"

"Never mind that, Stiles. I have something better for you to do," he replied with a smile. Again, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Of course, anything," I responded politely, nodding. "What can I do for you?"

"Would you care to bring our guest some lunch? I'm sure he's very hungry. He's in room 37," he said, handing over the tray of food. "Don't stay too long."

I nodded in understanding and took the tray, waving slightly before setting off towards the elevator. When I finally made it to his room, I hesitated before opening the door. I had no clue what could be in there, or what this man could do to me. But I eventually got over myself and twisted the doorknob, slowly sliding through the opening, cautiously looking around. Just when I thought it was clear, something jumped at me from the corner of the room, knocking the tray from my hands and causing me to land on my back and hit my head against the door. The man on top of me was bearing a set of fangs and his face was too hairy to be normal.

"Please don't hurt me," I whispered, hands flying up to shield my face. I stayed like that until I couldn't bear his silence any longer, and his face was back to normal by then. "Oh," I squeaked, because he was actually really hot.

"Stiles," he whispered, hand slowly reaching up to touch my cheek. "What have they done to you?"

I awkwardly sat up and scooted back against the door. "S-Sir, I'm sorry, but I don't know you," I mumbled, avoiding eye contact. There was something familiar about this man, but I wasn't going to trust him.

"You did know me," the man replied gently. "My name is Derek Hale. Does that sound like something you've heard before?" He talked slowly, as if he thought I didn't speak English. His face though, it held so much pain and sadness that I could hold anything against him. Not even the way he attacked me when I walked through the door. His eyes were full of pain, like the worst kind. I could tell just by looking at him, by watching him. Suddenly I was very interested. I was interested in helping this poor, helpless man. I wanted to help him be happy again.

"It sounds familiar, yes. But that's only because I've heard my boss talking about you," I replied quickly, wanting to get past this subject. "How do you know my name?"

Derek rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the ground, crossing his legs to get more comfortable. "Stiles, we used to be together. Not together as a couple, but I lo- I liked you. And you liked me too. Your boss isn't really your boss. He cursed you, made you forget about me. He's the bad guy, not me."

"Why should I believe you?" I whispered, playing with the fabric of my jeans. This was all pretty convincing, but then again, anyone can lie. Some can just lie better.