Stuck Like Glue (Derek Hale Fanfiction Book #2)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Breach

            “DEREK!” I screamed loudly, backing away from the man in front of me as I slammed the door shut and turned to run down the hall. Unfortunately, I felt an arm wrap around my waist and then I was being yanked back against his hard chest. Violent memories of Josh cornering me on the fire escape and punching me flashed through my mind, and I struggled frantically before I heard a loud roar from Derek and then felt Josh’s arms dropping from around my waist. I fell forward, crawling on the floor until I was a safe distance away from Josh, and Derek helped me stand. I pulled up my t-shirt to massage the skin on my hips where he’d grabbed me, only to find large, angry-looking bruises developing in the shapes of his hands on either side of my waist. Dammit. Derek’s eyes melted away into a fiery red at the sight of them, and he lunged at Josh threateningly. I managed to grab Derek’s arm and pull him back the last minute, figuring it’d be safest not to start a fight in our kitchen unless it was absolutely necessary.

“What are you doing here, Josh? I saw you die. You were sliced in half by Gerard, I saw it!” Derek growled, edging in front of me slightly and crossing his big arms over his even bigger chest. It was comforting to note that Derek was significantly bigger than Josh, whose lean stature and lightly muscled arms couldn’t even compare to Derek’s broad chest and bulging biceps. Josh still reminded me of an Abercrombie model – tall, slim, with messy blonde hair, twinkling blue eyes, and an Australian accent that could charm the pants off of just about any female. Although I’m pretty sure they don’t have any Abercrombie models who are psychopathic werewolf killers. Pretty sure.

“No, you saw those hunters kill a different werewolf who just happened to look like me. I decided to seize my chance and fake my death while I could, only to come back even stronger than before. And that’s exactly what I’ve done,” Josh explained in a calm, reasonable tone that was totally unreasonable for this scenario. I prayed Isaac and Alice would come in to get a snack or Peter would swing by unannounced, but nothing happened. I clutched onto Derek’s arm, peering around him to glare at Josh. As much as I hated playing damsel in distress, I knew there was a very good reason to be afraid of Josh. A very good reason, indeed, so I stayed behind Derek like a good little girl.

“Even stronger? How is that possible?”

“Well you see Derek…you’re not the only one who can kill a family member to become Alpha.”

“You killed Liza?” Derek practically whispered in horror, and I squeezed his forearm in comfort; I knew he and Laura had been friends with Josh and Liza, before Josh had gone crazy for power and tried to kill both Laura and his sister, Liza. 

“Damn right I did. So I guess we’re on level playing fields now, right? You’re an Alpha, I’m an Alpha. Now it’s just a matter of who’s a stronger Alpha,” Josh challenged Derek, approaching him slowly until Josh and Derek were close enough to kiss. I held my breath, absolute fear encasing my entire body and rooting me to the spot.

            Suddenly, in a blur of fists and red eyes, Josh and Derek went at each other; Josh punched Derek in the face, and when Derek staggered, he kicked him in the stomach. I jumped back, a little scream escaping from my mouth, and then turned to run at Josh.

“Chris, no!” Derek shouted from behind me, but I didn’t listen. I’d barely taken two steps, however, when I got backhanded across the face by Josh, and I flew across the kitchen, slamming into the dishwasher and collapsing on the ground. Pain exploded from where I hit my back, and I realized I’d made contact on the exact spots I’d been cut by the trophy case last year. I moaned in pain, struggling to roll over and get up as I could hear Derek shouting my name amid growls and soft thuds. Derek’s not gonna win. The realization that I was right slowly dawned on me, and tears welled up in my eyes without warning. I had no idea where Isaac or Alice was, but I knew that Derek needed help if he was going to beat Josh. Quickly, I went through my mental list of possibilities.