Derek

I remembered falling asleep sometime after Stiles woke me up with his screaming. It might have been hours of listening to him breath in and out, sleeping soundly again. It might have been minutes. I wasn't keeping track of the time, but I remembered falling asleep right as the sun started to come up. Now it was most likely around ten, judging from the place of the sun. Lydia and Kara were storming into the room, all ready for the day and spreading their readiness. I, however, did not want to move. I expressed those feelings by rolling over and shoving my face into a pillow. Until I realized Stiles wasn't there, and then I was struggling against the sheets to get out and find my pants.

"Where is he?" I asked, yanking on my clothes. I was ready in under a minute and then I stood, waiting, in front of them both. "Seriously, tell me where he is."

"Relax. He was just sleep walking. He's out in the hallway." Lydia shifted on her feet uncomfortably. "Kara tried to wake him up, but it didn't work. I don't know what's wrong with him. Did he seem okay yesterday?" She was worried about him. That made sense, and I should've talked to her about it, but I was already walking out the door, eyes searching the hallway for Stiles.

He was all the way at the end of the hallway, his body pressed up against the wall as he slept. I sighed and knelt down beside him. I tried to shake him softly. I tried to shake him harder than before. It wasn't waking him up. "Stiles," I said firmly, pulling him into a sitting position. He kept snoring, so I tried to shake him again. Still nothing. "Stiles!" I yelled, hoping it would work, but he didn't even flinch. Finally, I gave up and carried him back into our room where Lydia and Kara were still waiting.

"What's wrong with him?" Kara asked nervously, eyes wide as I laid him down on the bed and pulled the cover over his body. "He's still sleeping. I even used magic on him, and it didn't work. Something is wrong with him," she continued, talking almost to fast for me to understand. I sighed heavily, taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to Stiles.

"If I knew what was wrong, I would tell you. But I don't, so stop asking me," I replied calmly, avoiding eye contact. I stared down at Stiles, tracing all of his features with my eyes. "Don't you have a teenage girl to deal with?" I snapped, suddenly looking at them. Kara glared at me, because I didn't scare her. Lydia just stared, mouth hanging open. "Sorry, I'm just stressed out. I need some peace and quiet."

"Cora said the meeting is soon," Lydia told me, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's not waking up and someone has to stay here with him. I think it should be me."

"No, I'll do it. He's my boyfriend. I should take care of him," I muttered, running a thumb over Stiles' cheek as I stared down at him. Whatever was going on, I just wanted him to be okay. He was here because of me. Cora called him to come, but he only agreed because of me. Because I left him and he wanted to see me again.

"Derek," Kara replied carefully. "He'll be okay with Lydia. Trust us, okay? You know Cora is going to need you there. You have to go." She gave me a sympathetic look and tried to smile assuringly. I wasn't convinced yet, and she seemed to notice. "You won't be gone for that long. If he wakes up, Lydia can call one of us. She knows how to use her abilities. She can fight if anything threatens his life. You know she can do it. Stiles would trust his life in her hands, and so should you."

I shifted uncomfortably under their stares. I turned my attention to the window, thinking about my options. Kara was right. Cora would need me there. I needed to be there to find out what was going on. He was still unconsious, so I had no choice but to leave him here. Lydia was strong and knew how to fight. This wasn't a terrible thing. "Fine," I said eventually. "Just don't let anything happen to him."

"Never," Lydia responded with a reassuring nod. "I'll make sure he's safe."

I nodded slowly, looking down at him. I felt terrible for leaving now, espcially since I wouldn't be there if he woke up while I was gone. He could have another nightmare, and without me next to him, it wouldn't keep them from happening. "I love you," I whispered against his forehead before pressing a small kiss to his skin. I sighed, touching his cheek again before forcing myself to get up. "Let's just get this over with," I grumbled, shoving my feet into my shoes and then walking out the door. Kara followed.

+++

"In here," Cora instructed, leading the six of us behind a large building. It used to be a hospital, but had been long since abandoned. Cora lead the group while I stayed in the back, watching to make sure no one was following us. Every now anf then, Charlie would glance back at me, just to make sure I was still there. If we had allowed Thomas to come along, Charlie would be too distracted, so I was thankful Cora made him stay behind with Lydia, Stiles, and Meghan.

"This place looks like shit," Charlie grumbled under his breath. Of course we all heard it, but he didn't care. I shook my head and gently pushed him in the door Cora was leading us through. It led into a dim hallway. This hallway was empty, but I could hear others not far from here, maybe on the other side of the building. Charlie fell back into step with me, shoulders slumped as he sighed. "I didn't want to come," he admitted.

"And you think I did?" I replied, raising an eyebrow. "I wanted to stay with Stiles until I knew he was okay, but people like us don't get to just make those decisions. We have no choice in whether or not we fight, or die. We do what we have to so we can save the lives of innocent strangers." I was making this seem intense in hopes of getting through the teenagers thick skull, but he didn't seem phased at all. "Charlie, you're fifteen. I get that you want a normal life. You want to stay home, go on dates with your boyfriend, hang out with friends. That's just not who we are though."

"I could just run away."

"That won't do anything. Danger follows you everywhere. It follows us everywhere. Just don't do anything stupid. I care about you. A lot of people do. We need you, okay?" I didn't think my little speech would do much, but maybe it'd make a small dent. I wanted Charlie to have a good life because he deserved that. Him being here wasn't the plan. Stiles being here wasn't the plan either. In fact, no one was supposed to come to my rescue. It was Cora and I against the supernaturals. No one was supposed to get involved, or get hurt.

"Derek, what are you thinking about?" Charlie whispered as we entered a large room, probably once the waiting room, full of different people. Mostly men with an array of weapons strapped to them and men with a lot of muscle. There were a few other supernaturals like us, but not many.

"Uh, just how we're going to win the war," I lied, scratching the back of my neck. Really, I was thinking about how to tell Stiles he had to go home. And he had to take Charlie and Thomas with him. He couldn't stay here. He was already in danger and I couldn't let anything else happen.

"Everyone quiet down!" Cora's voice yelled, silencing all the others. She stood on a chair, trying to look more intimidating. I could've been the one up there, but Cora was smarter than me. She knew what to say. "I know you're all scared. Elise is dead and one of you might be next, unless we come up with a plan to take down our enemy. We have a few ideas, but I want to hear yours as well. Please raise your hands, so we don't get too out of hand."

A woman near the back, a kitsune, threw her hand up in the air. Cora nodded in her direction. "There's not a lot we can do. If we have someone on the inside, we can figure out the enemies weakness."

"That was an idea we were already considering, so nicely done. Anyone else?" There was an awkward silence and it dragged on for minutes. "Alright, so our only plan is to have an inside man. No plan B? Anyone?" Still nothing. Cora sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Alright, we can meet again next week. I'll have updates on the enemy. Keep doing your assigned jobs. You're all dismissed until further notice."

I offered her my hand to help her down as everyone crowded through the exits. We stayed a few hours longer while Cora talked to people about things and it was almost dark by the time Cora was ready to leave.

"Let's go," I mumbled. "We need to talk to Lydia about her being our spy."

+++

"How is he?" I asked as Lydia stepped out of the room, softly closing the door behind her. She sighed softly. "Lydia, is he okay?"

"He's fine. A little out of it, but fine. I think it was something to do with that creature yesterday. Thomas is still feeling off too. Nothing to worry about." She smiled assuringly, but that did nothing to make me feel better. Charlie was the first to rush into the room, far less calm than anyone else.

I stepped in after him, eyes scanning over a sleeping Meghan and a sleeping Thomas to find Stiles, but he wasn't there. I felt like fainting, a little nauseous, but I held my own. "Lydia," I gritted out, clenching my fists. "Where the hell is he?" There was evidence that he had been there. Our bed wasn't made and it smelled strongly of him. He hadn't been gone very long.

"He- Derek, I swear he was just here. Before I left the room, he was there. I watched him the whole time!" she exclaimed, hands flying nervously to pull at her hair. She turned in a circle, eyes scanning the room. "No, this isn't right. He was here. He-"

"Lydia, calm down," I said slowly, grabbing her hand. She turned towards me, the worry in her eyes slowly fading as she took a deep breath. "Good. Now think. Where could he have gone?"

"I-I don't know," she admitted, scratching the back of her neck. "We're too far up for him to jump out the window. He couldn't have snuck past me. Maybe someone took-"

"God, don't say that," I interrupted, shaking my head. "I can't- I don't want to think about someone taking him. I should've been here... I should've-"

"Derek, it's okay. We'll find him," Lydia whispered, hugging my side. I let her, but I didn't hug back. I stared at the window. The curtain was covering it, but I could feel a slight breeze. I could smell the rain getting ready to fall. The window had to be open.

I gently pushed away from Lydia and headed straight to the window. With the curtain pushed to the side, I could see the window was wide open and it was a good way down to the concrete. If Stiles jumped, he'd be dead. The only thing on the ground was a shoe. His shoe. "Damn it," I growled, forcefully slamming the window shut. "I'm going to find him," I stated.  "Alone."

"I can help, Derek!" Lydia called, chasing after me as I walked out into the hallway. "Please! This is my fault!"

"No, Lydia! Stay with the other two!" I yelled as I got further from her. She couldn't keep up, which was my objective. I could handle this on my own. I already had a scent.
+++

His scent led me to a very unexpected place. An overcrowded bar with too many drunk people stumbling around. I didn't hesitate before walking in. The smell of Stiles was replaced by a mixture of strong alcoholic drinks and sweat. The smell alone made me want to turn around and leave, but I wasn't going anywhere without Stiles.

I pushed my way through crowds of dancing people, all drunk or getting there. A few people tried to pull me into their circles, but I forced myself away until I made it to the very back of the bar. There were only a few people and none of them were stiles. As I got closer, his scent grew stronger. I realized the guy standing in front of the back exit was wearing Stiles' sweatshirt and he was also a werewolf. Great.

"Where is he?" I asked as I approached. The guy crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. When I didn't leave, he flashed his yellow eyes at me. I grinned. "That's cute. Now tell me where he is," I growled, showing off my blue eyes. This seemed to worry him a little, but he didn't back away. I was starting to get a little pissed. "If you don't tell me where he is right now, I swear I will rip you into pieces."

"Who?" he retorted with a smirk, trying to play dumb with me.

I shrugged. "I tried to warn you," I said, stepping forward to grab him by the shirt. I slammed his back against the metal door and leaned in inches from his face. "Where is Stiles?"

The man swallowed visibly. "He's outside with some other guys," he admitted, suddenly not so confident. "Look man, I was following orders. I didn't know he was your friend."

"He's not," I snapped, dropping him to the ground. "He's my boyfriend." I shoved him to the side and yanked open the door, even though it was locked. They could deal with that later.

"Hey, you can't be out here man," someone said to the left of me. It was dark and cold. Stiles didn't have a jacket, so he was probably freezing. I turned to the voice, my eyes meeting another pair, shining bright yellow in the dark. "Leave," he growled. "Before you get hurt."

"This is going to be awkward," I said with a slight hint of amusement in my tone. I stripped off my shirt and jacket, then my pants. The guy was staring at me, confused. I watched more men emerge from behind buildings and dumpsters. Stiles was on the ground next to one of them, barely conscious. He caught my attention and smiled as much as he could manage.

"What the hell? Are you some kind of freak?" the guy half yelled, trying to intimidate me.

I almost laughed. "Sure," I answered before changing completely into my wolf form. It had been a few weeks, but it felt good. I watched the guy back away in fear. He was running away before I could actually do some damage. Actually, all but one of them fled. Of course it had to be an alpha.

"Derek Hale. I should've known this small, useless human belonged to you," he spat, overly confident considering all of his men were terrified of me. "If you hadn't have shown up when you did, he'd probably be dead. Maybe if you weren't distracted, the humans would be winning this damn war. I'm on your side, you know? I like having humans around. They make the world interesting."

I growled, stepping towards him in attempts to scare the man, but he didn't move.

"My opinion? Ditch the boy. He's an obstacle you don't need. If you want to win this war, leave him. He'll be safer away from all of this anyways. If you don't want him to end up dead, you'll do the right thing." He took a step back and smiled. "Think about it," he added, and then he was gone.

I shifted back to normal and quickly rushed over to Stiles. He was still awake, but barely, and he was shaking so bad I could see it. I got my jacket on him and then picked him up. He probably wasn't going to be able to walk right now.

"I love you. Don't make me leave," he whispered, burying his face in my neck. I could feel his hot tears against my skin. "Please, Der. I don't wanna go. I want to be with you."

I hadn't made up my mind yet, so I sighed and kissed his head. "I know," was all I could come up with as an answer.