keeper (d. Hale)

out of hand.

Delilah placed the now infamous 'Introduction To Lycanthropy' book on the top shelf of the nearly empty locker and closed the metal door as softly as she could. She hoped it would help Liam as it had helped the other betas adjust to their new life.

Classes were almost over for the day but that still left the school hallway temporarily void of anyone else. Normally that wouldn't bother Delilah and she would relish in the time alone, but the fast few days, or weeks actually, had her feeling like moments like these were a death sentence.

Her skin itched and it was hard to breathe, as if there was something sitting directly on her chest, pressing down and never letting her draw in a lung full of air.

Melissa had said it was like she was experiencing a separation anxiety and while she understood it to a point, she had never witnessed it this bad outside of the hospital.

The sound of a pair of familiar shoes turning the corner down the hall drew her back to the present.

The relief hit her like a wave as she watched Derek walk at a relaxed pace down the hallway towards her. His canvas jacket stretched across his shoulders and proudly displayed the visitor badge pinned to the front pocket.

Delilah leaned her hip into the lockers and crossed her arms casually in front of her chest as he stopped before her.

"How was it?" She asked just above a whisper.

Derek copied her position and faced his wife against the locker.

He took a moment to answer as his eyes trailed from the top of her head and stopped just below her feet. It wasn't as if she was wearing something completely out of the ordinary, just one of his shirts, tucked into a pair of hip hugging pair of jeans and her leather jacket draped over her shoulders. He loved her in that jacket and reached out to fiddle with the zipper hanging at her waist.

"Derek?" Delilah asked with a smile as she watched him carefully.

He snapped his eyes back up to her and pulled the corner of his mouth up into a lopsided grin.

"It was awkward but Noah is right," he shrugged. "If I'm going to stick close to you, I should probably do it in a way that doesn't come off as an adult man lurking around the high school hallway."

He tapped the visitor badge on his chest  before reaching down for her hand.

"Even if he's married to the insanely hot school nurse..."

Delilah tried to hard her blush at her husbands comment. "Well volunteering as a tutor directly for Malia at school I think is the best way to go."

He sighed and nodded. He just didn't like the police check that had to be submitted on his behalf to the school board. Fortunately he had a glowing recommendation from the town sheriff that squashed his past arrests that never lead to any charges.

Delilah hummed and tugged on his hand to guide him back to her office to eat lunch.

If he was going to be here on a daily basis then this was definitely something she could get used too.

"You look really pretty today," Derek said as she unlocked her door and flipped the lights on.

"You're a charmer aren't you?" Delilah laughed as she put her keys on the desk and moved to open the office window. A crisp breeze flowed into the room and she could now smell a hint of the pine trees just outside her window.

"Only for you babe," he winked. He grabbed the backpack he had placed on the chair across from her desk when they first arrived at the school and moved the motorcycle helmets off her desk.