METAMORPHOSIS • DEREK HALE [COMPLETED]

Chapter Twenty-Two

As a vibration from their cell phones broke the comfortable silence Alex and Derek both shared by the fire, the new twenty one year-old pressed a quick kiss to the base of Derek's neck before retrieving her phone. 

In a group chat between Alex, Derek, and Scott, a message lit up her screen. Holding the device in front of the two of them, they read it quietly to themselves.

Scott: kira and i found satomi's pack. more assassins are coming. can u both meet us at argent arms? 

Turning from the screen, she looked up to meet Derek's as her head rested against his chest. "Duty calls," he looked back down to her. 

"Yep," she nodded before replying with a quick on our way. Shoving the cell back into her pocket, she added, "I'm glad the rest of Satomi's pack is alive."

"Me too," Derek noted.

The two hesitantly rose from their comfy positions interlaced with each other to pack. Not wanting to leave anything behind, they stored it all away into their separate bags. Alex made sure to slip the blue box into her own small satchel for safe keeping. While Derek attempted to diminished the still glowing flames, Alex shook out and folded the navy quilt than was once beneath them into quarters. 

Finishing before he did, she joined him by the pit. Each watched the flames slowly die out, but she became more mesmerized by his features. "Derek," she smiled, "I really just want to thank you for all of this. No one has ever done anything like it for me before."

"Alex," he mirrored her smile as he closed the space between them, "you don't have to thank me."  

"But I want to," she rose to her tiptoes to place a final kiss to his lips. His hands came in contact with her to cup her cheeks, wanting to make the kiss last longer but they knew they both had to leave.

They concluded the rest of their night alone together by packing up the rest of the site and extinguishing the flames. The time after flew by as both her and Derek found themselves pulling into the parking lot of Argent Arms with the sun rising. 

Seeing the building brought on memories of her few trips to the company compound when she worked with her mother and the Calaveras. But the building was now abandon since Chris retired. It looked as if it hadn't been touched for years, but from the sound of other heartbeats in the building, she knew that wasn't the case.

Upon throwing the car into park, Derek ventured to the trunk of the car, pulling out one of the handguns along with a clip of bullets. Alex grew nervous at the thought of more people dying tonight, innocent or not, but the deadpool needed to end soon. They were going to stop it tonight. 

Heading cautiously inside through the front metal door, they were soon met with a relieved Scott, Kira, and pack of betas, all frighten from the previous night's attacks on them. 

Alex briefly watched Chris install motion sensors with Scott through an interior window before they turned to meet the rest of the supernaturals gathering in the room. Scott stopped to give a concerned glance at Kira while Alex continued to Derek, but Scott soon followed. 

All three examined the group of betas and their wise alpha interact, and then Scott said to Derek, "They'll be okay."

"They've got claws and fangs, but they're not fighters," the man replied truthfully about the passive pack. 

"That's why I called the both of you," Scott commented as the group was joined with Kira.

"Well, try to remember that I don't have claws and fangs anymore either."

"That's why he's got me," Alex added with a slight smirk, trying to bring lightness into the conversation. 

"Am I the only one still hoping this is all just a false alarm," the young kitsune voiced. "I mean it's possible we could just wait here all night here and nothing happens. Right?"