Destiny [D.H.]

04

The next night, I was with Derek searching for the Alpha. The Alpha jumped on the car a woman was driving and she shot through the roof. Derek noticed blood, meaning the Alpha had been hit. He jumped on the roof, following the Alpha, and was shot by the same woman. He fell off the roof and grunted in pain.

Derek lifted his sleeve to reveal blood from a smoking purple wound. I gulped and rested by hand against a wall to steady myself. I closed my eyes, trying to forget about the blood. It had always made me nauseous. Derek seemed to notice and pulled his sleeve down and rested his head on my shoulder a moment.

Later that morning at school, Stiles said, "If Derek isn't the Alpha, if he's not the one who bit you, then who did?"

Scott shrugged. "I don't know."

"Did the Alpha kill the bus driver?"

"I don't know."

"Does Allison's dad know about the Alpha?"

"He doesn't know!" I cried, drawing attention to us. "Jeez!"

Stiles shot me a look before saying, "Dude, you need to study more. That was a joke. Scott, it's one test. You're gonna make it up. Do you want help studying?"

"No. I'm studying with Allison after school today," Scott replied.

"That's my boy."

"We're just studying."

"Uh, no, you're not."

"No, I'm not?"

I looked between them. "Boys. If Scott just wants to study, he can. It doesn't have to be anything more."

Stiles looked at Scott. "Ignore her. Not if I'm forced to live vicariously through you. If you go to her house today and squander that colossal opportunity, I swear to God I'll have you de-balled."

"Okay. Just stop with the questions, man," Scott said.

"Done. No more questions. No more talk about the Alpha or Derek. Especially Derek--who still scares me. I don't understand what you see in him, Ella."

I frowned. "He's kind, sweet, and doesn't ask stupid questions."

"Yeah. Okay. Come on. Let's go."

We climbed into Stiles' Jeep and he pulled away from his spot. As he was making his way to the exit, Derek fell in from of the Jeep.

"Oh, my God!" Stiles cried.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, not here!" Scott exclaimed.

"You've got to be kidding me. This guy's everywhere--"

"What the hell?"

I got out of the Jeep and knelt next to Derek. "Why are you here?"

He winced. "I was shot."

"Yeah, I was there. Remember? Why the school?" I closed my eyes a moment, feeling a sharp, throbbing pain in my arm.

"He's not looking so good, dude," Stiles noted.

"Why aren't you healing?" Scott asked.

"I can't. It was--it was a different kind of bullet."

"A silver bullet?" Stiles questioned.

"No, you idiot."

"Wait, wait. That's what she meant when she said you had 48 hours."

"48 hours?" I repeated.

At the same time, Derek said, "What? Who--who said 48 hours?"

"The one who shot you," Scott replied as Derek's eyes flicked blue. "What are you doing? Stop that!"