The Alexandra Chronicles ¤ Derek Hale

Chapter 7

I was curled up on my window seat that night, reading a book, when the sound of screaming made my heart practically jump through my chest. I jumped up and ran down the hall to Scott's room, where the screaming was coming from, only to stop and scowl when I saw it was just Stiles and my mom; he must have climbed through Scott's window and scared the shit out of her, seeing as how she was wielding a baseball bat. "Do any of you even play baseball?!" He exclaimed, still holding his hands up.
"Actually, yes," I said as I leaned against Scott's doorway, crossing my arms. "I do." Technically it was true. I didn't play for the school anymore, but when all my friends get together we play a game or two sometimes.
Stiles rolled his eyes at me as Scott walked up beside me, heading for his bedroom. He stopped and glanced between Stiles and our mom, confused as to what was going on. "Can you please tell your friend to use the front door?" Mom said to him.
Scott frowned. "But we lock the front door," he pointed out. "He wouldn't be able to get in." Actually, Stiles knows where we keep our spare key, so that's no excuse... but neither of us were about to confess that to Mom.
"Yeah, exactly!" She exclaimed. "And - by the way - do either of you even care that there's a police-enforced curfew?" This question wasn't directed at me; since I was eighteen, the curfew officially didn't apply to me.
"No," the boys answered together.
Mom huffed. "No," she repeated. "All right then. Well, you know what? That's about enough parenting for me for one night, so goodnight. Alex, you're on duty." She tapped my shoulder on the way past me and out of Scott's room, muttering something about 'hyper teenage boys' and'why they can't obey the rules, I don't know.' I laughed under my breath at her annoyance and then turned to look at Scott and Stiles, pulling the bedroom door shut behind me.
"What?" Scott asked his best friend when he just looked at us.
Stiles took a deep breath. "My dad left for the hospital fifteen minutes ago," he told us as Scott pulled out his desk chair and sat down. I remained with my back against the door, my arms crossed and one leg propped up against it. "It's the bus driver... they said he succumbed to his wounds."
My eyes widened as Scott tilted his head. "Succumbed?"
"He's dead, Scott," I explained quietly. My brother's brown eyes widened just as much as mine had, shocked at the news. But he didn't say much, and after a while Stiles left. I walked him out and he promised to get a hold of one of us if he found anything else out. When I went back inside, I almost ran right into Scott, who had been on his way out. "Where are you going?"
"To see Derek," he said through clenched teeth. He was angry now; that much was obvious.
"I'll drive," I offered. Scott started to disagree, but he shut up since I was already on the way out the door, keys in hand. When we got to the Hale house, Scott got out and stormed inside before I even had a chance to park the car. I scrambled after him as quick as I could, not knowing what he was going to do.
"Derek!" He yelled. "I know you're here! I know what you've done!" Scott was screaming as I walked inside to stand beside him, looking around the run-down place. There was a huge staircase in front of us and a lot of wide open space; I could only imagine how beautiful this place once was before the fire.
"I didn't do anything." Derek was nowhere to be seen as he spoke, but both of us could hear him.
"You killed him!" Scott exclaimed as he began creeping up the stairs. I walked close behind him, looking around us quietly.
"He died."
"Like your sister died?"
"My sister was missing." I could tell by the annoyance in Derek's voice that Laura was a touchy subject. "I came here looking for her."
"You found her," Scott replied.
"I found her in pieces! Being used as bait to catch me," Derek said bitterly.
Scott didn't agree with this theory. "I think you killed them both," he spoke through the empty house. Once we reached the top of the stairs, Scott turned and began walking to the left. Not wanting him to go anywhere by himself, I walked beside him. "And I'm going to tell everybody. Starting with the sheriff." All of a sudden, Derek grabbed Scott from behind and threw him down the stairs.
"Hey!" I exclaimed protectively, stepping toward him with my fist clenched.
Derek grabbed my arm and pushed me back slightly. "Stay out of this before you get hurt," he murmured before jumping down the stairs. Scott jumped up, all wolfed out, and I watched in shock as he literally threw Derek; the older werewolf crashed through a wall. I raced down the stairs as I heard Derek tell my brother, "That was cute." By the time I got down the steps, I saw a wolfed-out Derek stalking toward Scott. His eyes flashed blue as Scott ran at him; Derek simply grabbed him and slammed him against the wall a few times before throwing him over a table.
I watched helplessly as Scott got his ass practically handed to him, but when Derek sliced him across the stomach with his claws, I ran forward and shoved him; werewolf strength be damned, I refuse to stand by while someone hurts my brother. Derek growled at me as his eyes flashed blue again, but I wasn't even afraid. "That's enough!" I screamed at him, my hands still pressing against his chest. He growled again, but then his breathing began to get even as his facial features returned to normal. I glared at him for another brief moment before turning around and helping Scott off of the ground.
"I didn't kill him. Neither of us did," Derek told Scott. "It's not your fault, and it's not mine."
"This? This is all your fault!" Scott screamed, stalking toward Derek. The two of them stood face to face as I fidgeted a few feet away, wondering what the hell I should do. "You ruined my life!"
"No, I didn't," Derek denied.
"You're the one who bit me!" My brother insisted.
Derek's jaw clenched. "No, I'm not," he responded.
Scott hesitated and fell back a step. "What?"
"I'm not the one that bit you."
My brother's eyes widened considerably as he ran his fingers over the claw marks Derek had just left - which were rapidly healing. "Scott," I murmured. He didn't seem to hear me as he stumbled backward and fell onto the couch. I rushed over and kneeled down in front of him, grabbing one of his hands. He wasn't even breathing. "Scott?" Once my brother finally looked at me, I squeezed his hand. "Scott, I need you to breathe."
He nodded slowly and took a few deep breaths before glancing between Derek and I. "There's another," he said quietly.
Derek nodded. "It's called an alpha. It's the most dangerous of our kind," he explained. "You and I, Scott, we're betas... This thing is more powerful, more animal than either of us. My sister came here looking for him and now, I'm trying to find him. But I don't think I can do it without you."
"Why?" I asked, turning to look at the werewolf standing behind me as I remained crouched in front of my brother. "Why him?"
"Because he's the one the alpha bit, Alexandra," Derek told me. His eyes shifted over me to look at Scott as he added, "You're a part of his pack. It's you, Scott... you're the one he wants."
My brother tensed in fear and lost his ability to speak; after all, werewolf now or not, he was still just a fifteen year-old boy who just had his life turned upside-down. "Well, he's not going to get him," I told Derek firmly. "Do you hear me, Scott?" I helped my brother up and grabbed his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. "He's not going to get you."
"You don't know that," Scott whispered. I scoffed, and he pointed out, "You can't stop him. You're - you're just human. You're not strong enough."
"I might not be strong enough, but I'm damn sure smart enough," I retorted. "I won't let you get hurt, okay? You're my little brother."

+ + + + +

Derek

"Why?" Alexandra turned to look at me as she held Scott's hand. "Why him?"
"Because he's the one the alpha bit, Alexandra," I explained to her. Turning my attention to Scott instead of the brunette with the doe brown eyes, I continued. "You're a part of his pack. It's you, Scott... you're the one he wants."
Scott froze and blinked rapidly, apparently having been lost for words. I could smell the fear on him as he sat there on the couch without moving; and I could also smell the fierce protectiveness coming from Alexandra. "Well, he's not going to get him," she snapped in determination. "Do you hear me, Scott? He's not going to get you." I remained silent as she helped her brother up and grabbed his face in her hands. Scott was a few inches taller than she was, but that didn't seem to matter; it was clear who was older, wiser and more protective out of the two of them.
"You don't know that," Scott told Alexandra helplessly. "You can't stop him. You're - you're just human. You're not strong enough." It was clear that he looked up to his sister and trusted her more than anything, but it wasn't exactly a secret that Alexandra wasn't the most apt to win a physical fight with an alpha werewolf. She had a sharp tongue, that was for sure, but her slender physique wouldn't stand a chance when it came to fighting.
Alexandra scoffed at Scott's lack of faith in her. "I might not be strong enough, but I'm damn sure smart enough," she said confidently. "I won't let you get hurt, okay? You're my little brother."
Moments like these were the kind I wish wouldn't happen in front of me. Watching Alexandra with Scott was like watching another version of Laura with a younger me, down to the last detail. Of the two of us, Laura was always the one who had the emotional strength and always tried her best to look out for me, like Alexandra was for Scott. Seeing the brother and sister in front of me made me miss Laura a little bit more, and Cora, too. Although I would never admit it, I was still hurt over the loss of my family. The only person I had left was Peter, but I wasn't sure he could even be counted seeing as he's practically a zombie. I was all alone now.
"Let's get you home," Alexandra told Scott after a moment. "It's late, and we've got school tomorrow." Scott nodded and allowed his sister to hook her arm through his before leading him out of the house. I followed them silently and stood on the porch, watching as they got into her car and drove away.
When I was young, around the time between Paige and Kate, Peter used to tell me that he didn't know why I wasted my time. "You'll meet your mate one day and then you'll realize there could never be anyone else for you," he would say. As natural-born werewolves, we each have our own mate. It's nothing like in Twilight, where you know just by making eye-contact or whatever; but when I asked Peter how I would know who my mate is, he never explained it much. "You might have to know her for a little while to realize it. But her scent, it'll be stronger to you than anyone else's, even from the beginning. And you'll feel a sort of connection with her - like you can trust her even if you don't know a lot about her at first. I don't know, kid, I can't explain it to you. You'll just know when you know."
I'm not saying Alexandra McCall is my mate. In a way, I hope she's not - because that would make things a hell of a lot more complicated than they already are. And I'm also not saying I didn't love Paige, because I did, and there will always be a part of me that cares for her. But I know she wasn't 'the one.' As for the things Peter has said, well... I'm not sure if I can fully trust Alexandra, because I'm sure she will always put Scott before anything; but I do know that her scent is stronger to me than any others I've ever come across. She always carries this scent of raspberries and vanilla, and I don't know why, but it drives me crazy. I knew there was a possibility that she was my mate because of that, and because a part of me was attracted to her anyway. Not just because of her looks - even though I'm sure any guy would be attracted to - but because of the way she carried herself. She was confident and comfortable with who she was, and she never let anyone disrespect her. I don't think I've ever met a girl like her before.
I had a feeling Alexandra McCall was going to have a major influence on me from now on. And I didn't like it, either.