Shepherd [Sterek]

Chapter 29

Derek blinked slowly as they returned to the physical world after being forced out of the memory world. Derek pinched the bridge of his nose at the slight headache he now had. He wasn't sure if it was from all the information or the transition between a lucid dream state and awake.

As the pain faded, Derek looked to his left, where Stiles sat, staring at the wall. "You figure out a way to erase the mean one yet?" Derek mutters, trying to remove the solemn look on Stiles' face.

A knock on the door doesn't allow Stiles to answer, not that his expression changed from Derek's attempt. Stiles doesn't move, hardly even glancing at the door or Derek, leaving the Alpha to answer the door. Derek's anger instantly flared again at the person on the other side.

"Don't look so excited to see me," Emberly looked Derek over as he stood fuming in the doorway. "You gonna let me in or keep thinking about ripping out my throat? I'm here about Stiles if that helps at all."

Derek's face twitches as he fights his urge to attack the girl; he steps out of the doorway with a grunt allowing her into the cabin. "Cute." She glances around quickly as she shrugs off her coat. "Oh right, a gift. At some point, your emissary or even Stiles could use these." She hands Derek three small glass vials.

He looks them over, guessing that two of them are wolfsbane, the other, he didn't have a guess for. "What was left of the wolfsbane we used to save Chase and some of my ashes. That was all I could make so soon after the ritual. I'll provide more once I can." She's casual in her words, but Derek can feel the bite she holds back. Emberly being here only makes Derek want to find Chase and finally get the revenge Derek longs for.

"I'm sure Deaton will appreciate these." Derek grits out.

"What's wrong with him?" Emberly looks at Stiles, seeming frozen on the couch.

"We've just returned from meeting some of his predecessors." Derek sighs, straining the word.

"You've gone back into the Shepherds world again? Why?"

"It's full of resources that will help Stiles learn. It's the only way he's going to learn currently. Unless your brother's kidnapped another Shepherd." Derek sneered at the last sentence.

Emberly rolls her eyes, not having the will or energy to argue, let alone fight with the Alpha. "Of course not. It took us eight years to find Stiles. Chase only found Stiles because of your little run-in with the pack in this territory." Derek nearly flinched at the thought of him being the reason Chase was able to find Stiles. "I'll never justify what Chase did, but the man who took Stiles isn't my brother. That wasn't the Chase I grew up with and would trade my life for." Her words made Derek's wolf flicker to life, loving the idea of finally taking a life that belonged to the Valentine pack for what happened to Stiles. But Derek knew it would only do more harm to kill Emberly. Derek would make sure Chase got what he deserved in due time.

"What exactly are you here for? To annoy me into killing your brother? I'm ninety percent to do that as it is." Derek glowered.

"I wanted to make sure that Stiles was doing okay after everything. This is also my attempt to make some peace between our packs. I've heard that your mating ceremony is set for two moons from now." Her shoulders sagged, and any fight she held before was gone. Derek could see that the events that happened a week ago had taken their toll on everyone.

"Please, have a seat." Derek motioned to the living room, feeling his own fight drain from his body. "I'm going to make some coffee. Would you like some?" Emberly nodded as she took a seat in the lazy boy, and Derek moved to the kitchen.

Derek watched as she sat there, watching Stiles; her face held as much concern for him as Derek knew he did. When Derek thought about it honestly, he had no real reason to dislike Emberly. His distaste for her came from the fact that she was Chase's sister, and though she had no actual hand in hurting Stiles, she was still there. Something in Derek was telling him to trust her. Maybe it was when the past Shepherds said their visitor was a friend. He knew they had some way of knowing who they could trust, and though the subject was very touchy, Stiles had only spoken kind words about Emberly if the topic was brought up.

The coffee maker beeped, pulling Derek from his thoughts. He filled three mugs and walked them into the living room, placing them on the coffee table before he went to grab the creamer and sugar.

"Thank you," Emberly weakly smiled, adding sugar to a mug.

"He isn't supposed to have coffee. But I'll take hyper Stiles over this any day," Derek sighed, holding the mug in front of Stiles' nose, waiting for the gloss in his eyes to fade, slowly bringing him from his thoughts.

"It isn't nice to tease me like that." Stiles glared at Derek, snatching to mug from his mate's hand before he could take it away from him.

Stiles took in the room, noticing their guest in the lazy boy across from him. "Emberly."

"I think you went a little too deep, Stiles. I've been here for a least fifteen minutes." She chuckled.

"Sorry, we uh...."

"I got minimal details." She waved him off.

"So, what brings you here?"

"Checking on a friend." She shrugged her shoulders, seeming to get lost in the dark liquid in her hand. "You look good. No more freaky glowing swirls and stuff all over your body. The color returned to your skin, and your eyes are brighter." Emberly cringed, instantly regretting what she said.

"Yeah, those show up when I use my powers." Stiles chuckled, trying to brush off her words. He knew she meant to malice by them. "How's Chase? Still bat shit crazy?" He poked lightly.

"To an extent, but everyone's a little crazy naturally." Emberly laughed. "He's better than he's ever been in his life. Healthy for the first time, his smile reaches his eyes again."

"That's good. At least it wasn't all for nothing." Stiles nodded. "How about you?"

"It will be a good while before I do anything too crazy, but not bad. I had enough strength to make a few ashes before I came here. I thought it to be a good peace offering for the time being." She glanced at Derek quickly, not wanting to look away from Stiles for too long. Emberly still wasn't sure if Derek was going to kill her or not.

"You didn't need to strain yourself to do that. Derek wouldn't have done anything to you so long as he doesn't want the mating ceremony pushed back another month." Stiles wickedly smiles at his mate. Derek huffs in reply.

"I was shocked to hear it wasn't the coming moon," Emberly comments.

"Too many people to contact for it to be sooner than two moons. Derek has a large family." Stiles held back his loathing for the situation.

"I can only imagine Chase's was massive."

"Chase, has a mate?" Derek broke his silence.

"Had. She uh– She died in the attack her lost our father in. I think losing his mate and being made Alpha within a few minutes turned him into that monster you met." Emberly forced down the lump in her throat and willed her tears not to fall.

Stiles and Derek shared a look, feeling each other's emotions racing through the partial mating bond. "I would have been the same." Derek musters, knowing deep down that he would have become a monster if he had been in Chase's place.

"That was another reason Chase ordered the Beta to keep their mates away. He couldn't stand to see them happy. The ones with pups were worse."

"No." Stiles gasps.

"Six months. The baby would never have made it. The sword through her stomach also made sure of that." Emberly couldn't stop the few tears that slid down her cheeks. She let out a small laugh. "I haven't thought, let alone talked about this since it happened. Chase went berserk if he heard a whisper about them or that day."

Stiles leaned forward, his coffee placed on the table to be forgotten, as he grabbed Emberly's hand. Light glowed between the two, and sparks that reminded Derek of fireflies danced around the room. "Any time you want to talk, I'll be happy to listen." Stiles smiled, watching the flames in her eyes flicker for a moment.

"Thank you," She whispers.

The silence was long but warm and comfortable. Derek watched the forest outside grow dark. "I'll go fix the bed in the spare room. You're welcome to stay the night." Derek left before Emberly could reply, only catching the relieved look she flashed him. His hate for her older brother was diminishing– still there– but Derek understood a little more.