"Sorry, Lahey, but I'm more of a cat person."
Vera Pérez is no stranger to the supernatural. Growing up alongside the Hale family has kept her fairly well-informed about the creatures that lurk in the darkness. However, she didn't become one of thos...
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( tattoo, pt. i )
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
VERA IS TRYING to finish her summer reading homework when she gets the call.
"You need to leave Beacon Hills."
Vera frowns, positioning her cell phone between her cheek and shoulder so she can take her pen out of her mouth and speak. "Hello to you, too. What's the occasion? We had all summer to go on a trip. It's the night before school starts and I have an entire book to read before English class."
The voice on the other end sighs, but she can't tell if it's because of the reason for their call or the fact that she'd waited until the last minute yet again to start her homework. Anyone close to her wouldn't be surprised by this fact. Full-assing things right before they're due is better than half-assing them as soon as they're assigned. It's how Vera's brain works.
Derek Hale tells her firmly, "He's back."
Her frown deepens. That isn't specific at all, and this much beating around the bush tells her that whatever's going on, Derek really doesn't want to be the one to tell her about it. A blossom of worry sends an ache spreading through her chest. Her heartbeat increases, fingers turning clammy. Few things can rattle her older, not-blood-related brother.
"Derek," she says, voice level and low. "Who's back?"
"Deucalion."
Vera inhales sharply at the sound of his name. She knows it well. After all, she had grown up with him visiting Derek's mother whenever he needed guidance. She'd only glimpsed him from afar – humans weren't supposed to intrude on Pack meetings, but Derek had snuck her out anyway because he'd been curious, too – and she knows how his reputation precedes him nowadays. There are many aliases for him. The Alpha of Alphas. The Demon Wolf.
Vera's preferred nickname for him is The Psychotic Asshole Who'd Killed My Father.
She forces her breath to come out slow when she exhales through her mouth. The name terrifies her. The man terrifies her. But if Derek knows that, he'll show up at her house within seconds and drive her hundreds of miles away himself. She has to make sure that there isn't even a flicker of fear in her voice when she responds.
"I'm not leaving."
"Vera," Derek warns in a tone that reminds her of a disappointed parent.
"I can't!" she explains a little louder this time, jamming her pen into the crease of Great Expectations so she doesn't lose her page. "I have school tomorrow. I missed enough days last year when I had to recover from the bite, and I really don't want to go through another round of detention to make up for that lost time. Besides, my mom's on another business trip and I have nowhere to go. I'm not running."
