My Puppies - Book One [Derek Hale]

Co-Captain

After winning the game, Henny finds Scott in the locker room, a towel wrapped around his waist. She is about to walk away when he notices her and she sees that his eyes are filled with panic. "What happened?" He takes a few deep breaths.

"Peter Hale is the Alpha. Derek joined his side. Then Peter told me that he wants to kill the people responsible and then he jabbed his claws into my neck." Henny nods. "What did Peter show you?" Scott looks up in surprise at her correct assumption. "The fire. What happened to him afterwards. How he woke up and started going after the people who killed his family. Laura's death. And he wants me to kill my friends so I can reach my full potential apparently. Derek just let him do it. He even threatened Allison."

Henny sits down next to him and takes a deep breath. She really wants to defend Derek. And she understands why he would join Peter's side. His uncle is the only family he has left. And they both want revenge for what happened to the others. It's not an excuse though. Henny knows what Peter must feel like to a certain extent. Minus the coma part of course. But she did the right thing. She made sure the ones who hurt her ended up behind bars. Then again, she was close to going down a different path. And Peter was trapped in an unmoving shell with those thoughts for the better part of six years. He needs to be stopped, but she understands him in a way.

Henny is just about to go to sleep a few days later when she gets a message. 'Do you mind if we meet now? I could really use someone to talk to. Chris' She thinks it over for a moment. The main reason why she is training with him, is to find out what he knows. This is perfect. 'Sure. I'll be there in twenty'

When Henny walks into the shooting range, she sees Chris sitting on a chair with his head down. As she approaches, he gets up and wraps Henny into a tight hug. She wraps her arms around his middle with no hesitation and lets Chris soak in her compassion. A gesture he probably hasn't received in a long time. "What's going on?", Henny whispers gently. He steps back and pulls her over to a bench where they sit facing each other.

"Do you think it's wrong that I'm asking you to keep an eye on Allison instead of teaching her all these things?", Chris wants to know. "Has she expressed any interest or said that she feels unsafe?" He shakes his head. "No, nothing like that. She's happy as far as I can tell. But every day I carry this fear with me that something might happen to her. And that neither of us will be there to protect her. If I could, I would follow her around all the time and chase away every person that so much as looks at her wrong. We live in a dangerous world and Allison hasn't experienced that in full yet. But what if some day soon she does?"

Henny nods in understanding. "I get it. You want to protect your daughter. But you don't know the best way to do that. If she can defend herself, she is more likely to get out of dangerous situations. But she's also more likely to walk into them. It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of situation. Have you talked to Victoria about your concerns?" Chris shakes his head. "She mostly stays out of everything. As much as I love my wife, I'm the more present parent in Allison's life. Victoria can be distant. She loves our daughter. Of course she does. But she struggles to show it and connect with her sometimes."

Chris grabs Henny's hands and squeezes them tight. She can tell how much he is struggling with the possibility of Allison becoming a hunter. He just wants his little girl to be safe. "My sister has a strong opinion though. She wants Allison to be just like her. But Kate is reckless. The run-head-first-into-danger-with-her-guns-ablazing type. I don't want that for my daughter. The way me and my sister were raised wasn't easy. While Kate reveled in it, I was constantly scared. Scared to always be on the lookout for the next source of danger. To welcome it with open arms. It's not right. Kids should just get to be kids."

"I agree. I would have loved to have a normal childhood. I mean, for almost sixteen years I did. And then it was ripped away from me. You've seen me fight. You know that doesn't come from nowhere. I didn't choose to be this person. Not back then. And now it's a part of me. Whether I like it or not. So I embrace it." Chris nods and waits for her to continue.

"The most important thing is that you love Allison more than anything. There's nothing you wouldn't do to protect her. But more than that, you need to be there for her and take the time to be with her. No matter what happens. To listen to what she wants and what makes her happy. I can tell that you are doing all these things as well as you can. You're a great father, Chris. That's evident." He smiles and looks into Henny's eyes. "You'll make a great mom some day, Henny." She chuckles. "Sometimes I feel like I already am one." "Maybe that's why we get along so well. When I talk to you, I can't believe you're only eighteen. If you ever want to tell me what happened for you to grow up so fast, I'm here to listen."

The genuine concern in Chris' voice causes a tear to roll down Henny's cheek. Maybe it's the fact that she hasn't seen Derek since he joined Peter, but her emotions are on a high. And she really needed someone to just be there. She just never expected it to be Chris. "I'm not quite ready to talk about that time yet. But it's so reassuring to hear that you will be there when I am." Chris nods and wipes the tear off her cheek.

"There's something else I'm struggling with", he admits. Henny nods for him to continue. "My family has always passed down a certain set of values from generation to generation. It's hard to explain. Basically, we keep to ourselves unless someone starts a conflict first. But if they do start something, we fight back full force." Henny looks for a response, but comes up empty. Chris takes that a sign that she doesn't understand. "What I mean is, we don't shoot first. But if someone else takes the first shot, we go for the kill. God, that doesn't make any more sense, does it? Okay, how about this. Our motto is 'We hunt those who hunt us'."

Henny takes a deep breath. "Okay. That sounds reasonable. So you protect your own, is that it?" Chris nods in relief. "Yes, pretty much. Not just our own though. We protect those who can't protect themselves. We protect innocent lives. That's how we are raised. That's what I believe in. Zero collateral damage. My most important principal. I'm struggling with the fact that not everyone in my family is as passionate about that as me."

"And you're afraid that Allison might go down that road, aren't you?" He nods. "I haven't seen you with her yet. But from what you say about her and she says about you, you have a tight relationship. She listens to you, your opinion means the world to her. Hold on to that. I don't think anything could break you two apart. That's worth a hell of a lot." Chris smiles and pulls Henny into another hug. If it weren't for the very large elephant in the corner, Henny could see herself and Chris being very good friends.

'Your puppy needs you right now' That text leads Henny to the animal clinic. When she walks into the back room, she finds the vet Deaton taking care of a bullet wound on Scott's side. "Huh, I guess you really do know how to take care of any animal", she comments.