Is it gone, tell me what went wrong / 'Cause baby I'm not that strong

[work_inprogress]

It wasn't that Peter wanted to leave Scott behind, by any means, but he'd rushed back in there and the Alpha twins--who'd flipped sides just like he'd said they would--were right behind them and Cora had already stopped breathing once. So, he snarled at Isaac who could see the twins behind them and knew, if nothing else, he had a duty to his pack--of which Peter and Cora were a major part.

He floored it.

The epinephrine had burned off a little too fast, which had been embarrassing, but the adrenaline was still pumping--possibly the only thing keeping him upright, honestly. That and needing to take care of his pack...Cora hadn't regained consciousness, and he could only hope someone had found Derek.

Isaac didn't know where Scott was, didn't know if he'd gotten out, and he was shaking, but he got them back to the loft safely. Sure, the pack knew where it was, but they knew where all of them lived and where else were they going to go? Better somewhere they could sort of defend. They didn't have Ms. Blake, anyway, so why would they come after them?

When they got to the loft, Peter got Cora out of the car, lifting her with a pained wince, but when Isaac tried to take her, he snarled at the boy until he ran ahead, getting doors instead, letting them all into the loft and skidding to a bit of a halt at finding Lydia and Hayley sitting there.

Peter noticed the girls, but didn't process, moving across to get Cora on the table, somewhere they could work on her more easily than the sofa. After he got her there, he just leaned against it, head hanging down, breathing a little too hard.

Comments

[work_inprogress]

He smiled a little. "I'm not the one with a head injury," he reminded her, though the room did tilt a little when he stood. "...Maybe we'll keep each other upright..." But he needed to get blood--his and others' off of him, even if he didn't really have anything clean to change into.

Hayley was still worried, heart still racing. "But they're out there, now. With that girl and her father. What if they betray them? Hurt them?"

[nosuchthingasfate]

Stiles took the tire iron, nodding a bit as he clutched it tightly and then waited for Mr. Argent to start moving before he followed after him. "So, uh, have you ever dealt with emissaries before?"

Allison looked around again before she moved forward, fighting back the shiver that crawled down her spine and whispered in the back of her head. "Then this is exactly the direction we should go."

"Yes, it is." Derek didn't need to feel the air to know it was the right place as he could see the spot where they needed to be in the distance.

[wantadistraction]

"I'm not the one with possible internal bleeding." She countered as she stepped back, still watching him closely as he stood up. "That sounds like a good idea."

"The guy won't and I don't think the girl will either." Cora shook her head. "Derek says he has honor, that he's helped them in the past."

[work_inprogress]

He sighed. "Point, I suppose." Fuck, everything hurt, but he wasn't going to tell her that. He put a brave face on it and didn't wince all that much as he led her back out into the hall and toward the guest bathroom.

Hayley shivered a little. "Elijah trusted them enough to tell them about me, but..." She still looked scared.

[wantadistraction]

Except Lydia was rather good at reading people and she could see the way he was favoring his side even if he was trying to hide it from her. It was more of the macho bullshit she was too familiar with but she let it go. Really, it would just be easier to keep an eye on him and help if he needed it.

Following him into the bathroom, she arched a brow. "Need help with your pants?"

"They're not going to do anything." Cora replied with a shake of her head. "You're safe from them. We all are."

[work_inprogress]

He wouldn't be surprised she saw through it, but not calling him on it helped his wounded pride. He gave her a bit of a smirk and glanced down at his ridiculously tight jeans. "I might..." Not really, but he wasn't an idiot. A pretty girl asked you if you needed help getting your pants off...you let her take your pants off of you.

Hayley nodded, worrying at her lower lip, but she had to take Cora's word for it. More worrying wouldn't help anything.

[wantadistraction]

The corners of Lydia's mouth twitched as she saw the look on his face when she offered to help with his jeans as she knew, once again, jut where his mind had gone. Stepping closer to him, she started on getting them undone before hooking her thumbs inside the waistband so she could start pulling them down along with his underwear.

"Seriously, there is no reason to worry." Cora laid back on her bed. "Plus it's not like Elijah would let them hurt you, right?"

[work_inprogress]

Peter's mind had gone there, but his body, for once, wasn't following up. A little flare of pleasure still danced along his spine as she got his jeans and underwear over his hips and they slid down his legs, but it was a candle flicker as opposed to the raging fire she usually inspired with just a smile.

Still, his own was warm as he reached to unfasten and undo her skirt, pushing it down and tugging at her panties.

Hayley moved further into the girl's room, to the window where she could look out. "It's not me I'm worried about."

Which...color her shocked about that.

[wantadistraction]

For once, she wasn't bothered by the fact that there was no flare of need or more as she knew he wasn't in the right mood or shape for it. Her head was still spinning somewhat, after all. From getting hit in the head and from the pills they had given her.

Still there was a hum of heat as he peeled her skirt off and then tugged on her panties to take them off as well. Knowing he couldn't lift his arms that high then, she peeled his shirt off over her head, setting it aside before working on her bra.

Cora watched Hayley as she moved to the window, tilting her head slightly. "Worried about Klaus?"

[manof_myword]

Chris shook his head a little. "None but Deaton. Normally, they aren't violent, and can balance wolves, helping keep them from becoming those we would notice."

"Mmhmm..." Klaus murmured, frowning a little bit at the tingle of magic if it was strong enough for him to really feel. He wanted to get this over with, keep anything from backfiring on them, and move on to something more fun...like hunting down these Alpha wolves. God, he hoped they were good for a fight.

Isaac glanced at Derek and was about to ask when Elijah appeared. "There only seems to be one entrance, is that right?" the vampire asked.

[iamthe_alpha]

"So clearly Deucalion screwed up a lot of things by making the others kill theirs, huh?" Stiles muttered dryly.

Allison glanced sideways at him, noting the tension radiating from him, but she couldn't look at him for long as she needed to stay focused on their surroundings.

Glancing over at Elijah when he appeared, Derek nodded. "Yes, a set of cellar doors just over there." He nodded in the direction.

[work_inprogress]

That hum of heat was always going to be there for him for her. No way he knew for it not to be, but he was pretty sure they'd both all and kill themselves if they tried anything in the shower. Still, he ducked his head to kiss her when she'd gotten the rest off her clothes off, before moving to turn the shower on, getting the water right before holding out his hand to help her in.

Hayley shook her head a little, then shrugged. "Klaus can take care of himself." Except who knew what the fuck a druid could do? "I'm worried about Derek."

[wantadistraction]

After returning the kiss, she waited for him to turn on the shower before taking his hand and following him in. Allowing him to slide under the spray first, she pulled the curtain closed and then let out a sigh of pleasure as the heat of the water and the steam billowed over her.

Cora nodded, looking away. "I am too but not from the hunters."

[manof_myword]

"More than I think anyone could have realized." Chris shook his head. "It should never have been like this." Another thing that had him questioning the family business.

Klaus caught his brother's scent in the air, and scanned the area, making out shapes in the distance, and tilting his head to listen, smiling slightly when he heard his voice and nodding. "Elijah and his group are in place."

Elijah frowned. "How big is it down there? She's obviously not keeping them above ground, but I don't relish rushing a small space, enclosed, where the humans could get hurt. Better to lure her out..."

[iamthe_alpha]

Scott had told Stiles the story they had gotten from Gerard and Stiles found himself glancing sideways at Chris again, nodding slightly. "It feels like that about everything lately, doesn't it?"

Allison blinked before realizing that Klaus could hear the others and she found herself envying him for a second. "Let's go this way then." She motioned for him to follow her as she took the opposite point from the other group.

"It's not that big." Derek replied, his jaw clenching. Really, he liked Elijah's idea but that was mostly because he didn't want to go down into the cellar again. "Let's bring her out somehow." He glanced at Elijah. "She might come out if I call for her."

[work_inprogress]

As light headed as he suspected they both were, the steam probably wasn't as helpful as it could have been, but fuck it felt good. He closed his eyes, tilting his head back and let the water wash over him, rinsing away sweat and a bit more blood than he'd necessarily realized. A hiss escaped as it hit a few cuts and scrapes, and when he glanced down he realized he was a bit more bruised than he'd thought, too, elsewhere than his ribs.

"I really don't like those twins," he muttered, reaching for the soap.

"From the Darach?" Hayley asked, glancing back at Cora.

[wantstopunchyou]

Lydia was noticing those same bruises and cuts, her fingers brushing over his chest. "You should have healed more by now."

A shadow passed over Cora's face as her gaze flickered down. "That and the Nemeton isn't really a good place for Derek. It holds some bad memories."

[work_inprogress]

He tried to shake away the concern, shrugging a little. "There was a reason I haven't been fighting with the boys before tonight. Not just because I thought it foolish"

Hayley frowned, looking at Cora, head tilted, concern there. "What do you mean?"

[wantadistraction]

The gears started to turn as Lydia let her fingers drift over his side, skimming ever so lightly over the bruise. "That night you had me resurrect you. You had to tap into Derek's power, didn't you?" She asked softly.

Cora looked torn then, glancing at Hayley again. "Has he ever mentioned Paige?"

[work_inprogress]

Peter nodded. "An Alpha's power and blood--they're necessary for the ritual."

Hayley shook her head a little, frowning. "No. Who was she?"

[wantadistraction]

"What if something went wrong?" Lydia frowned. "What if you two are sharing the Alpha power?"

"She was Derek's girlfriend in high school." Cora replied somewhat vaguely. "She died at the Nemeton."

[work_inprogress]

Peter blinked a little bit, frowning, and pushed the water out of his eyes. "...I don't think that anything is wrong with Derek, though? And if I had any of his power, I should still be healing faster. Even a beta should heal faster than this."

Hayley swallowed. "...and now he's going back."

[wantadistraction]

"Maybe you're only taking other parts of his power?" She asked, tilting her head as she wet her lips with a flick of her tongue. Her head was still aching but it made some sense to him. "And, no offense to Derek, but he's been getting beaten a lot by the other Alphas. Like he isn't at full strength and speed either."

"It can't be easy for him." Cora murmured.

[work_inprogress]

"Maybe." He wasn't dismissing it out of hand by any means. He didn't know what the ramifications were. "But Derek's never done so well fighting, honestly. And the Alphas all killed their packs which makes them far stronger than just a regular Alpha...who barely even has a pack."

"I'd imagine not," Hayley said, turning back to the window, even more on edge.

[wantstopunchyou]

Lydia nodded her head, knowing he was most likely right but she was trying to figure out and make sense why he wasn't healing. It had been months since he had been resurrected. Then, suddenly, she was turning to sit on the edge of the tub, moving the curtain just enough so she wasn't sitting on it. "So the best plan is for you to become an Alpha again. But what happens to this pack then?"

Cora knew she should tell Hayley more but it also wasn't her story to really tell. She wasn't even sure that Derek would want to know that she and Stiles knew some of what had happened let alone his new girlfriend.