Still ▸ Teen Wolf [Book Two]

twelve ; a ghost's heartbeat

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CHAPTER TWELVE;

A GHOST'S HEARTBEAT

When you lose someone you love, all you want to do is go back to the beginning and wish you had never met them. You wish you could take back all of the memories, all of the fights, all of the laughs, and all of the tears. It's impossible to, though, because when you forget about that person, you've completely lost all reason to care in the first place. When you lose the one person that's been there for you your whole life, the one that held your hand when you were scared, the one that cared when no one else did, you lose a part of yourself.

And she refused to believe that there is nothing left for her now.

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"Derek, this is Sage."

The eight-year-old boy looked down at the four-year-old blonde. She was wrapped up behind her mother's leg, shy as she slowly peeked around to see who her mother was introducing her to. That was when Derek finally got a good look at her small face, contorted into a look of confusion as her nose scrunched up tightly. She was the same age as his youngest sister, Cora, although this little girl seemed to be more shy.

Derek was overjoyed at the sight of another child, and plopped down on the ground to grin happily at the blonde. He didn't want her to be afraid of him, not when she had nothing to fear. He wasn't really as scary as his older sister, Laura. She was the one that didn't like little kids, always annoyed with Cora any time she did something remotely child-like, despite being four.

"Hi!" Derek greeted, waving towards the small girl.

She paused, her eyes widening as she looked startled that he was actually talking to her. She glanced behind her, and Derek looked as well to see that there was another boy lingering behind Sage. He looked to be ten, the same age as Laura, while he stood next to Hal Connelly. Overall, Derek noticed that everyone in the family looked the same. They looked happy. Derek couldn't help but feel envious knowing that his whole family had been cursed with being werewolves since the day they were born.

Sage's older brother bent down next to Sage, whispering something in her ear before grinning and standing up again. Whatever he said worked, because Sage was turning to Derek a few seconds later, letting go of her mother so she could slowly walk over with her small legs. Just like Derek had done, she plopped down on the ground in front of him and frowned heavily, small dimples forming on the sides of her cheeks.

"Mommy says you're a wolf," Sage began, sticking her thumb into her mouth as she spoke.

Derek was stunned at first, not expecting for her to know about their family secret. Nonetheless, he nodded his head at the blonde girl. "Yeah, I am. It's super cool. You've got to see my eyes one day!"

"What color are they?" she asked, her eyes growing the size of saucers as she grew more excited. "Are they pink? I want a wolf with pink eyes. Or blue. Blue is my bubba's favorite color."

Derek shook his head. "They're yellow. Mom says that blue is a bad color on us."

"Really?" Sage wondered, her thumb falling out of her mouth. "I think blue is a pretty color."

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That had been the first time Sage truly accepted who Derek Hale was.

For her whole life, she grew up around the stories of werewolves and never once imagined them as tall tales. She grew up fascinated and hoping to be like the creatures of the night, up until she caught on that it was impossible for her to ever be one considering she was something of her own. Once Sage had met Derek Hale when she was four, she knew that he would be the one to bring her back every time, whether he had red, blue, or even pink eyes.