My alpha [D. Hale]

20. When it's too late

After Isaac was freed, he could not stay alone in his parents' house, so Talia let him live with her and Derek. They had a large house, so the three of them had plenty of room for each other.

Derek was considering buying a loft that had been abandoned for several years.

His mother had her own life anyway, so Deaton was practically living there. He often stayed with her.

He thought about asking Emily to help him decorate the loft, but it didn't make sense now anyway.
He had to teach his two new Betas, Isaac and Erica, how to control their werewolves so they wouldn't suddenly change during school hours.

The full moon the night before, their first full moon, was not easy. Erica kept breaking free of her chains and Scott had to catch her and tie her up again.

He knew it was the last thing Scott wanted to do, especially a few days before his sister's funeral, but Derek was grateful that the boy didn't leave him alone with it.

Now Derek was sitting in an abandoned subway, waiting for the two teenagers to teach them control and fighting.

He couldn't concentrate, his thoughts alternating between Kanima, Emily and his Betas. He felt like he was losing control.

When Emily was by his side, he didn't care about anything, everything seemed so easy.

In fact everything was indeed easier. He didn't know how he would manage on his own now. He was sure that his mother would always help him, but it wasn't the same.

Talia had her own life, and besides, Derek was an adult and could not rely on his mother for the rest of his life.

For a dozen years he thought she was dead, and now he wanted to give her some peace of mind so she could build her life the way she wanted to. He had to make it on his own.

***

Talia was sitting in her partner's house. She had a cup of coffee in her hands, already cold.

'Derek is moving away from me. From everyone. Isaac and the girl he recently turned, said he was angry and getting violent. Yesterday he broke Isaac's arm because Isaac started complaining that they're training too much and he's tired. '

Talia said as she looked at the cold coffee.

Deaton looked at her sadly.

'The death of a mate is never a pleasant experience. '

'I know, I'd like to help him, but I don't know how to reach him. He's still not home. '

'Have you tried tracking him down? '

'Yes, but I think he guessed I was following him because he started rubbing his scent behind him. '

'We'll figure something out. I'm not leaving you alone with this. '

Deaton grabbed Talia's hand.

***

Melissa sat on the floor of her daughter's room. Everything was exactly as her daughter had left it. The woman picked up a scarf on the floor and hid her face in it, crying.

***

Stiles waited for Melissa to leave for work. Earlier, he had snuck into her house to get an idea of when the woman was at work.

He knew she hadn't taken the day off to avoid thinking too much about her daughter's death.

As the woman left, Stiles entered Emily's room through the window. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he refused to believe that Emily could just die.