Ep 4・❥・ Magic bullet

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As Harper crouched down to examine the blood on the ground, her brows furrowed in concentration. She scanned the area, vigilant for any sign of the notorious Kate Argent that Derek and Selene warned her about. Shortly after the sound of quiet shuffling, Derek knelt beside her. Without hesitation, he reached over and touched the fresh blood before snapping his head up.

Harper followed his gaze, her breath hitching as she saw him. The alpha. He was scaling a building, his beastly, bulky frame somehow seamlessly blending into the dark shadows. Hearing and talking about the alpha was intimidating enough but seeing him in the flesh was a whole lot worse in a way beyond words. 

Derek immediately sprung up not wasting any time to follow him, Selene however just looked over at the younger girl, her sharp pine-green eyes finding a new softness.

"We're going," Harper announced, dismissing the look of almost pity Selene had given her. She got up swiftly and ran in the direction in which Derek had shot into. Selene opened her mouth and quickly shut it again the second the younger girl sped away and then quickly caught up with her.

Harper paused when she watched Derek climbing up a wall to get to the roof knowing that if anything she would just slow them down. Only a split second later, Selene was again by her side. Without saying a word the younger girl gave her a small nod, telling her to go ahead. And soon enough the both of them were racing to get to the alpha, everything going seemingly well until a gunshot rang out.

It was as if things played out in slow motion. Harper watched as the bullet whizzed in the night sky, undoubtedly going to hit Selene right in the stomach. Just as the bullet was about to strike her, Derek jumped in front of her, taking the bullets impact.

They both ended up tumbling down the gap between the two buildings they were only a second away from the clearing. When Harper found them she was met with both of them on the ground grunting and groaning. Selene got up almost immediately, leaning against one of the walls as she flexed her hand.

"Holy fuck. We need to get out of here now." Harper whispered, glancing over her shoulder to see not only Kate Argent but also Allison's Dad. The younger girl rushed over to Derek's side, throwing one of his arms over her shoulder and holstering him up to his feet.

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Harper skipped school, instead opting to train all day since there was no way she could go back to Beacon Hill High. Not after Derek got shot by hunters. She needed time for herself, to be away from everyone and everything. To just think.

And lately, with every day that passed in Beacon Hills a wicked temptation occupied Harper's every waking thought. She knew it was dangerous and all in all completely ridiculous. Every smart and logical part of herself was condemning even the thought but just a small part of her yearned to use it. Ached to feel in control. Burned to use her siren powers just one more time.

Up until only a few years ago, her life was her power. Her most important attribute was the fact she was a siren. Now, she had to figure out her life without them and it was beyond difficult. At times it felt impossible.

Sure she was incredibly skilled with her daggers and knives they would be enough to keep her safe but it wasn't the same. Not at all. Even if Harper wished with all her might and fibre of her being it was enough. It wasn't and it never would be.

She couldn't use her siren powers because every time she did the less control she would have over them until eventually, her humanity would slip away. Once that happened, it was almost impossible to get back. The thought was paralysing. Harper couldn't imagine living the rest of her days in the ocean killing people callously.

The most difficult thing about it all was the fact that from essentially birth Harper was made to use her powers by her alpha. He needed her to get as strong as possible, ignoring all the warning signs along the way because as long as he could control her nothing else mattered. It didn't matter that Harper was pushing her body beyond its limits. It didn't matter how scared she was. He couldn't care less until it affected him.

In an area completely unfamiliar to Harper, she sat with her back against the bark of an oak tree and knees pulled to her chest, her silver dagger only an arm's distance away. The tall trees around her swayed slightly as the wind rustled through them. Birds soared branch to branch occasionally chirping a sweet, calming melody.

Harper's body ached and throbbed from the way she had overworked herself for the past couple of hours. Obsessing about controlling something made her feel like she had power and in some ways she did. She was physically stronger and faster but nothing could compare to the feeling of euphoria when Harper used her siren powers. Ever since she stopped using them, it had been a search to find the next best thing.

But nothing could compare.

The cool night air was crisp and the sun had long dipped beneath the clouds. The usually vibrant blue sky was now a deep navy with a few stars showing off their brightness. Harper let out a small sigh, taking in her surroundings for just a second more before deciding it was time to go.

Whilst picking herself up she grabbed her dagger tucking it away. Quickly dusting herself off, Harper squinted into the distance where she could faintly see the main road and if she followed it she would end up back at Derek's.

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Harper had been walking for a while when her phone rang. At first, she felt panic since Selene had told her she would only call if it was an emergency and Derek didn't have to tell Harper for her to know he would only call her if absolutely necessary. When Harper pulled her phone out of her pocket, only expecting the worst, she didn't even recognise the number.

With a frown etched on her face, Harper answered the phone pressed it to her ear and was surprised to hear who was on the other end. "Harper? It's stiles." She felt the tension in her shoulders ease ever so slightly.

"Yeah, yeah it's me." Harper nodded even though she knew Stiles wouldn't be able to see her. "How did you get my number or better yet, why are you calling me?"

"I'm not happy about it either but Derek said you don't have anywhere else to go since there would be hunters at his house and threatened to rip my throat out if I didn't come get you," Stiles responded with a small sigh. Harper stopped in her tracks so she was standing in the middle of the sidewalk feeling a mixture of emotions. The main one being confusion.

"I'm like five minutes away from Derek's house if you drive down the road you'll see me," Harper explained, looking around at her dark surroundings before asking, "Is Derek at least holding up?" The worry eating her alive.

There was a long pause until she heard Stiles let out a small huff. "I mean that depends on your definition of holding up, but he's not in the best shape."
Harper didn't know how to respond to that. She was once again kept in the dark about everything and had to find information out from Stiles. "But hey, all hope isn't lost because he still hasn't lost his love for threatening people and being sarcastic every other sentence." He added.

The faint outlines of a smile snuck onto Harper's lips. She found Stiles's obnoxious, unapologetic jokes and remarks almost endearing, and it was exactly what she needed right now. Harper knew he could probably sense how on edge she was and she was glad Stiles traded his weird attitude towards her for something slightly better. They were by no means friends, or even friendly but she did appreciate the fact he was doing the bare minimum. Which was more than she had gotten from him since they'd met.

"We'll be there soon" Stiles spoke up again and the both of them shared the shortest goodbyes humanly possible before hanging up.

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When Harper saw the bright headlights at the end of the street she could've jumped for joy because if she had to wait outside even a second longer she would've frozen to death. When the blue Jeep pulled over Harper immediately noticed Derek in the passenger seat, and he looked awful. He was concerningly pale and his eyes were fluttering as if he didn't have the strength to keep them open.

"Scott told me to take him to this vet clinic he works at. His boss isn't there and it's the only somewhat safe place for him." Stiles nodded, hoping to turn Harper's attention away from Derek and ease some of the tension.

For the first time since Stiles had pulled over Harper managed to peel her eyes away from the Hale and let her eyes land on the buzzcut boy. "And where is Scott?" She questioned, taking note of the amount of hesitation and conflict Stiles had towards the question. "Stiles. Where is he?" Harper repeated, but surprisingly getting an answer out of Derek instead

"He's at the Argents, studying with Allison." He managed to say through deep and rugged breaths keeping his dark eyes open long enough to glare right at Harper, who felt a wave of anger and frustration almost swallow her whole. He had not even the slightest clue how much he was risking. How much danger he was putting himself into.

And as Harper silently climbed into the back seat of the Jeep she wondered who she was to judge. She had never experienced love so she didn't know how stupid it made it you. She had only heard of it through books and movies and Harper knew that that wasn't the same as feeling it. She just hoped Allison was worth everything and more for Scott because he was playing a dangerous game.

The engine gave a grumble before it started and set off down the street. The entire way to the vet Harper was literally sat at the edge of her seat. Paranoia and worry gnawing at her, so much so she couldn't go a second without looking over at Derek to make sure he was still breathing. It also didn't help that Selene wasn't answering her phone or any of the thousands of messages Harper was blowing her phone up with.

It had only been a maximum of a ten-minute journey but it felt like a thousand years for Harper. With each second Derek was getting worse, he knew it, Stiles knew it and Harper knew it. Though she wasn't sure how much Stiles cared, she did know he was human and at least a decent one at best. No one, even someone who's only half decent, wants someone else to die.

Once the car began to slow down and Stiles began to park it Harper was the first one to jump out, not waiting for the car to be properly parked. She quickly rushed over to Derek's side, opening the car door and helping him out whilst Stiles went to look for the extra key.

The Hale slung an arm over Harper's shoulder leaning the majority of his body weight onto her as he had no energy to keep himself upright. "Hold on, Derek," Harper grunted as she slammed the Jeep door shut and began walking towards the locked garage door.

Stiles looked over his shoulder as he held up the key to show Harper that he had found it. She gave him a small nod as she tried her absolute to get to him with Derek clinging onto her. By the time Stiles had got the garage open Harper had managed to stagger in. Derek took it upon himself to let go of Harper and the second he did he crashed into bags of dog and cat food whilst clutching his wounded arm.

"Does Nordic blue monkshood mean anything to you?" Stiles asked turning around and looking up from his phone to the disheveled-looking Hale.

Derek held his eyes shut for a moment before answering, "It's a rare type of wolfsbane, he has to bring me the bullet."

"Wait, why? What does Scott have to do with this?" Harper questioned, her eyes darting between Stiles and Derek.

"Because I'm gonna die without it," Derek admitted. Stiles stood there in complete shock, the bright lights from overhead hitting him like a spotlight. Harper, standing right beside him, shook her head. There was no way Derek was going to die if Harper had anything to do with it.

She ran her fingers through her dark hair taking a moment to breathe. Harper then turned to Stiles and saw him typing away on his phone, sending a message to Scott.

"Can you help me get him on his feet?" Harper asked, nodding over to Derek who had gotten a thousand times worse. "There has to be some type of vet room. Operating area? I don't know, just anywhere that's better than here."

Stiles gave a small nod whilst letting out a sigh. They both began to move towards Derek and help him up. Harper had to trust that Stiles knew what he was doing and where he was going because there wasn't time to do much else except trust it was all going to be fine.

"Through here," Stiles grunted, limping towards the double doors ahead of them. They pushed through and stumbled into what looked like a vet's room. The buzzcut boy flicked on the lights whilst Derek began ripping off his shirt and staggering to the operating table in the middle of the room.

Derek placed his arm on the table, showing off the revolting wound on his forearm. It had crimson-red blood that looked semi-dried pooling around it and black veins that travelled up his arm. Harper felt her stomach churning at the sight of it.

"You know that doesn't look like anything some echinacea and a good night's sleep couldn't be taken care of." Stiles joked whilst Harper was rethinking her admiration for the boy's sense of humour. Well, not completely, maybe he just had to work on his timing.

"Stiles shut the fuck up." The dark-haired girl snapped, shooting Stiles a nasty glare as she walked around the table to join him and Derek.

"When the infection reaches my heart it'll kill me." The Hale wheezed, moving towards the wooden cabinets around the room.

"Positivity isn't in your vocabulary is it?" Stiles huffed in frustration.

"If he doesn't get in here in time there is a last resort," Derek muttered as he moved to rummaging through the drawers.

Harper and Stiles shared looks until Stiles asked the question that they were both thinking about. "Which is?" He questioned, full of hesitation and worry.

Derek turned around with a mechanical saw in his hands. "One of you is going to cut my arm off."

Stiles and Harper eyed each other worriedly as Derek slid the saw over to them. It was clear neither of them was up to it, no one in their right mind would want to cut off an arm. The dark-haired girl grimaced as Stiles picked the saw up, examining it before putting it back down. "What if you bleed to death?" Stiles asked, leaning over the operating table.

"It will heal," Derek answered as he tied a piece of blue cloth on his bicep. "If it works," he added, definitely not helping ease Stiles or Harper's anxiety about the entire situation.

Harper ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her face. "So you're telling us that we have to cut off your arm but it might not even work?" She questioned, utterly dumbfounded.

"Yeah, I don't think I can do this." Stiles spluttered anxiously. He looked over at Harper and the both of them looked just as terrified as the other.

"I definitely can't do this." She sighed, shaking her head. It wasn't as if Harper hadn't seen or done worse but that was a time in her life she never wanted to revisit but then again she didn't want to push such an extreme and mortifying task into Stiles's hands. Everything was too much and happening way too fast.

"Why not?" Derek grunted.

"Well, because of the cutting of the flesh, the sawing of the bone and especially the blood!" Stiles exclaimed, looking at Derek's arm in disgust.

"You faint at the sight of blood?" The Hale asked judgmentally.

"No, but I might at the sight of a chopped-off arm!" Stiles yelled back.

"Nobody is going to cut your arm off, Derek."  Harper jumped in her mind racing for any other solution but there was none. "Scott is going to get here and it will be fine. It will all be sunshine and fucking rainbows." Harper knew she was stalling but it was the only way she wouldn't lose her mind.

Derek sighed, his eyes boring into Harpers as he spoke. "There is no time to wait, I'll be dead by then." chills shot down the dark-haired girl's back. "How about this? Either one of you cut off my arm or I'll cut off your heads."

"Okay, I'm so not buying your threats anymore-" Stiles began to complain before Derek grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled the buzzcut boy towards him. "Okay, okay, bought, sold, I'll do it." Stiles stuttered nervously.

The Hales grip on Stiles loosened as he leaned over slightly to the side. "Derek? Derek, are you okay?" Harper asked while she walked closer to him and Stiles. Right as she did Derek threw up. But it wasn't your typical disgusting throw up it was a a pitch-black colour. So, the opposite of a good sign.

Harper jumped back, her face contouring into one of shock and disgust matching almost perfectly the look on Stiles's face. "What the hell is that?" Stiles cringed whilst the girl beside him was too busy focusing on not throwing up herself to say much of anything.

"It's my body, it is trying to heal itself." Derek heaved, still doubled over and holding onto Stiles's shirt.

"Well, it's not doing a very good job of it." The younger boy rebutted, stumbling back as the Hale let go of him.

"Now, we have to do it like right now." Harper cut in after pulling herself together. She looked down at Derek and knew he didn't have anytime to spare then her eyes shifted to Stiles. His soft brow eyes collied with hers screaming a thousand words neither of them could say out loud and that was all the courage she needed.

"I don't think I can." Stiles muttered, wincing as he picked up the saw and began fiddling with it.

"Do it!" Derek yelled mustering up all of his last strength to do so.

Harper pulled in a deep breath before she grabbed the saw from Stiles and positioned it right bellow the blue ribbon Derek had tied. It was as if everything had gone quiet, though she knew in actuality it didn't. She could hear the faint freak out from Stiles from beside her and could feel her own heartbeat thudding in her chest.

Just as she was going to find the strength from somewhere inside her to cut an entire arm off she heard someone call her. "Harper! It's fine, you can stop!" She instantly recognised it to be Stiles.

Harper's head snapped up and was met with the relieved-looking boy looking back at her. Her hands were trembling and she felt frozen in place. Slowly, Stiles reached out and took the saw from her hands and placed it down on the table.

Once the saw was safely put down, Stiles chuckled in relief. "You just prevented a lifetime of nightmares." It was only then Harper followed Stiles's direction of vision and saw Scott, who looked like he had seen a ghost, in the doorway.

"Did you get it?" Derek asked through shallow breaths whilst still pressed against the metal operating table.

Scott rushed forward, fumbling inside his pocket until he pulled out the golden bullet. He passed it over to the Hale, who had managed to stand upright. He held it right in front of his face as he swayed in place slightly. Stiles and Scott shared concerned looks whilst Harper was still too overwhelmed and dumbstruck to say anything.

"What are you going to do with it?" Stiles asked timidly as he scanned the Hale with his eyes.

"I'm gonna..." Derek's eyes began to flutter and before the three of them knew it he collapsed, dropping his only key to life with him. Whilst Scott immediately bolted over to where the bullet had rolled over to Stiles and Harper rushed to help Derek.

"I think he's dying. I think he's dead." Stiles yelled and the second the words tumbled from his lips Harper shook her head. He wasn't dead. He couldn't be. She couldn't witness another person die.

Harper cradled Derek's head in her hands tapping the side of his face in the foolish hope it would do something to help. She was too busy focusing on Derek to notice the fact Stiles was busy focusing on her. Harper wasn't acting like Harper and though he didn't know what was wrong he definitely knew something was different and that she was far from okay.

After realizing her attempt to wake Derek up where futile Harper looked over at Stiles not having the energy to shield how helpless she was away from him. The dark-haired girl opened her mouth to force the words out but they didn't budge till she tried for the second time. "He's not waking up."

Stiles gave a curt nod, full of determination. He leaned over Derek muttering something almost inaudible but Harper was close enough to hear it. "Please don't kill me for this." Stiles then punched the Hale square in the face.

A split second after he did –before she could process anything– Harper heard something that was music to her ears. "I got it! I got it!" Scott yelled triumphally, rushing over to Derek who was now awake. The shaggy-haired boy helped lift him up as they all stood back around the operating table.

The Hale fumbled with the golden bullet before tearing the top of it off with his bare teeth. He then tapped it against the metal table, spilling out a powder of some sort and before Harper could blink Derek pulled out a lighter.

Harper stumbled back slightly when he lit the powder which instantly erupted in sparks. Thankfully, they quickly got replaced with a strange blue smoke. Derek shovelled all the powder into his palms, taking a deep breath, hesitating before he pressed it into his wound.

He let out a blood-curdling scream of agony, dropping to the ground once again. Harper watched in horror, helpless on what to do. Derek let out one last yell before his once-dark veins began to heal until the bullet wound closed up.

"That was awesome!" Stiles cried out cheerfully gaining a look from Scott that screamed "seriously" whilst Harper was silently agreeing because, in all honesty, it was kinda cool.

Derek slowly began pulling himself up to his feet, "you okay?" Scott asked though he sounded more confused than concerned.

Derek shot him his usual cold look. "Expect for the agonising pain?" He retorted sarcastically as he ripped off the blue ribbon that was still tied to his forearm.

"And once again the ability to use sarcasm seems to be a good sign of health," Stiles commented, a faint smile spreading on his lips as he glanced over at Harper reminding her about their previous phone call. The dark-haired girl bit back a smile meanwhile Scott looked between the two of them as if they were insane.

"Okay, we saved your life, which means you're gonna leave us alone," Scott commanded after a beat or two of silence. "You got that? And if you don't I'm gonna go back to Allison's dad and I'm gonna tell him everything-"

Harper frowned before letting out a bitter scoff. Here Scott McCall goes with his dreams. Someone had to snap him out of whatever world he was living in because it definitely wasn't this one.

"You have got to be kidding? Right?" She questioned, getting the loud answer of silence in return. "You are going to trust them? Do you think they will seriously help you?"

"Why not? They're a lot freaking nicer than he is!" Scott finally answered, however this time it wasn't Harper replying to the McCall boy, it was Derek.

"Yeah, I can show you exactly how nice they are." Alarm bells shot off in Harper's mind. Although Derek had never told her the story personally Selene had. And Harper had a sneaking suspicion this had something to do with the house fire the Argents set in his home.

Scott gave him a sceptical look, "what do you mean?"

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A/n

The slowest burn I have ever written but it's worth it guys, trust the process!!

Hope you enjoyed it!!!