The Long Way Home

Chapter 3

Stiles ran, the crack shot still ringing in his ears, he barley processed the excited cheering coming from behind him as he fled, the only thing on his mind was to get away, run, and hide. Even when he made it past the tree line he kept running.

This was insane, leave it to him and Derek to get caught by hunters who decided to capture werewolves and hunt them down for sport, Jesus fuck! How many innocent wolves have they killed-how many fucking humans?! Shit, this was happening, what the fuck was he supposed to do now?

He wasn't sure how long they ran, but he knew that he'd tire out long before Derek ever would. So, only when his chest started to ache, and his throat began to burn, did he slow down.

Stiles tried his best to implicate the breathing technique runners used to catch his breath, it was difficult because his lungs kept demanding more and more oxygen, but he forced himself to breath through his nose and out his mouth, in his hunched over state.

Derek was doing his best impression of a watch dog, as he looked back towards the direction they came, no doubt stretching his senses to see if they were being followed.

"They're not going to follow us, not yet." Stiles said between breaths.

"How do you know?" Derek responded, not even turning to look at the younger man, his head cocked to the side in that way that dogs do when they hear something strange in the distance.

"Think about it, you're a wolf, it's not that hard. They want to chase us, but it's only fun if they can actually hunt us, which is why they gave us a head start." Stiles responded, as he ran a hand through his now lengthening hair. He ignored the burning pain throughout his body and took stock of himself, he wasn't any better off than Derek in retrospect, unlike the alpha, his clothes were intact, save for a bit of blood he guessed was from Derek and mud that was smeared here and there, and a bruise on the left side of his jaw. He'd always been fond of his layers, now he was grateful for them, they'd keep him warm when the sun went down.

"Hunters rarely do what they say they're going to do." Derek responds, glancing back at Stiles briefly.

"Yeah, I get the feeling that these ones enjoy the game too much to bend the rules." The teen huffed out as he looked around. "Where are we anyway?"

"Don't know, too far away to sense any of the pack. We should start moving." The wolf says as he turns, walking past Stiles.

"Well that's helpful, how far does the bond stretch?" He inquired, falling into to step beside the alpha.

"Depends on the bond, and who you're connected too, the bonds between us are still too new for it to reach past two-hundred miles, give or take." Derek explained as he chose a path, wherever they were it didn't see too much human activity.

Stiles could make out a few cliff sides and mountain structures here and there through the trees, wherever they were, it sure as hell wasn't Cali. This place had an old vibe to it, like it had been this way for centuries and probably would stay this way for centuries to come, it was an actual wilderness...and it sent shivers down his spine.

"Stiles." Derek's voice cut through his thoughts, he looked towards the older man, a lone brow raised. "What's wrong?"

"This place, can't you feel it?" He asked as he looked up towards the tree tops.

"Feel what?" Derek asked, he was starting to get a little concerned, had they drugged Stiles when he wasn't looking?

"It's old-like really old, and wild." Stiles said, his brow pulling into a frown.

"It's a forest Stiles, of course it's old and wild, what did you expect." Derek stated, he was starting to get confused because Stiles didn't smell drugged.