Chapter Eight

This morning, I had to get Stiles to pick me up. Last night, Derek had gone out without telling me why. He strictly told me to stay in the apartment.

He never came home. This morning, I woke up, and he wasn't there. Derek's my ride to school. So, my last resort was Stiles.

Not that I mind. It was different. At first, it was awkward. But then we got a conversation going.

Now, I'm in class with Scott and Stiles. I sat next to Stiles, doodling in my notes book while listening to them.

"If Derek isn't the Alpha, if he's not the one that bit you, then who did?" I rolled my eyes at Stiles. So, this whole time they thought Derek was an Alpha? Huh! Yeah, right!

Scott shrugs. "I don't know."

"You know, you could've just asked me," I told them, looking over at them. They looked back at me with wide eyes.

"Do you know?"

I shrugged, smirking. "I don't know."

Stiles sighed loudly, rolling his eyes and turned his attention back to Scott. "Did the Alpha kill the bus driver?"

"I don't know." Scott softly said, Stiles clenched his jaw and leaned back before leaning forward.

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

"I don't know!" Scott had turned around, snapping at Stiles. I looked up from my book like everyone else; staring at the two boys.

In a matter of a few seconds, things went back to normal. No more stares. I got given back my test.

I smiled proudly at my result.

An A+.

I looked over at Stiles' paper, he got an A. "Huh! I bet you," I stuck out my tongue playfully and he rolled his eyes before looking over at Scott's.

"Dude, you need to study more," Stiles commented. Scott got a D-. Frustrated, Scott slams down his piece of paper. "That was a joke. Scott, it's one test. You're gonna make it up."

"Do you want help studying?" I offered Scott, feeling bad for him.

Scott sighed and shakes his head. "No. I'm studying with Allison after school today," Scott replied.

Stiles has a smirk on his face. A proud smirk. "That's my boy,"

"We're just studying," Scott fires back.

"Uh, no, you're not." Stiles shakes his head.

"No, I'm not?" Scott softly asked.

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

I grimace. "Okay!" Scott quietly exclaimed. "Just... Stop with the questions, man."

"Done," Stiles throws his hands up in the air. "No more questions. No more talk about the Alpha or Derek. Especially Derek... Who still scares me."

I smirked widely. "I'm going to tell him that,"

Stiles' eyes widen and he turns to me. "Don't you dare!"

"Why not?" I pout. "Is someone scared?"

"Yes!" He exclaimed, earning a few looks from people. "I won't give you a ride after school if you tell him."

I pondered over that. "Okay, you win this time, Stilinski." Stiles lets out a happy laugh.

--

It was the last period and I had a free period. I walked down the empty halls towards my locker, to chuck all my things in.

I approached my locker and opened the door, throwing all my textbooks in.

I gasped when my door suddenly slammed shut and leaned against the lockers is Derek. My eyes widen. "What the hell are you doing here!"

He looked paled and he seemed injured. He holds onto me and I'm practically his support beam.

"Whoa, Der," I tell him, holding onto him. "Derek, what happened?"

"I— I was shot," he stuttered out, his breathing is slow and he speaks slowly. He grimaces. "Kate— Kate Argent is back in town, F—Faya. I'm sending you back to the safe house."

My eyes widen even further. "No! Not the safe house, Derek!"

"Do not argue with me," he had snapped. "Take me to Scott."

"Why him?"

"No q-questions," Derek tells me and I nod my head.

The bell rings.

Quickly, I hurry him out to the parking lot where I was meeting Stiles. People were ready to leave.

We didn't even make it inside Stiles' car as Derek collapsed on the ground.

I gasped. "Derek!"

Stiles jumps out of the Jeep. I tried to lift him up but he wouldn't budge. My heart worries for him. If I lose Derek, then I have nothing!

"What are you doing here?" Scott hisses at Derek, going on the ground to him.

"I was shot," Derek speaks. He looks like he was to vomit.

"He's not looking so good, guys," Stiles points out and I rolled my eyes.

"Why aren't you healing?" I whispered to Derek, on my knees.

"I can't. It was— It was a different kind of bullet," he stutters out.

"A silver bullet?" Stiles practically yells out and I shoot a glare towards him.

"No, you idiot," I snapped at Stiles.

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

"What?" Derek hisses. "Who— Who said 48 hours?"

"The one that shot you," Scott tells him. Derek then winced, closing his eyes shut tightly before opening them, revealing his bright blue eyes that kept glowing in and out.

"Wha— What are you doing?" I stuttered out, my eyes widening. "Stop that!" There was loud honking behind us, telling us to move.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Derek muttered. "I can't!"

"Derek, get up!" Scott fires back. Derek doesn't reply. Scott sighed and walks behind Derek, ready to help him up. "I'm gonna put him in your car." Derek gets shoved in the front seat and I climbed into the back.

"I need you to find out what kind of bullet they used," Derek tells Scott.

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Scott questioned.

"'Cause she's an Argent," Derek snapped. "She's with them."

"Why should I help you?!"

"Because you need me," Derek tells him.

"Fine." Scott sighed. "I'll try." Stiles climbs into the Jeep into the driver's side. "Get him out of here."

"I hate you for this so much," Stiles grumbles before driving off.

We continued to drive down the road, leaving Scott behind. I lean forward. "I'm not going to the safe house." I continued the conversation from before.

Derek turns around. "You are. You'll be safe from her. I can only imagine she's going to be in Beacon Hill for a couple of weeks, you won't miss out on much,"

"I'll miss out on everything!" I exclaimed. "Derek, I can protect myself. I know how to fight. I'm not a kid anymore."

Derek continued to stare at me, contemplating. "We'll talk later."

I let out a loud annoyed sigh. I was so not done talking about this, but, due to the situation, I'll just shut up.

The safe house. I grew up most of my life there, hiding and running from the Argents or the Alpha pack. Anyone who's a threat to us, or, more specifically, me.

"What's the safe house?" Stiles questioned, breaking the intense silences.

"A safe house," Derek speaks. "It's pretty self-explanatory,"

"Just call Scott!" I sighed, throwing my hands in the air. Stiles nods and pulled out his phone. He called Scott a few times but Scott doesn't answer.

Stiles groaned. "I can't believe I'm stuck with the Hale's and my best friend is ignoring me. Could life get any worse?"

I let out a scoff. "Try again. Or I will make it worse." Derek only chuckled. Stiles gulps and calls again. Scott didn't pick up. "Text him."

Stiles quickly typed on his phone with one hand the best he could. Scott instantly replied to the text. He showed me the message.

Scott
Need more time.

Frustratedly, Stiles throws down his phone. "Come on." He muttered under his breath. "Hey, try not to bleed out on my seats, okay? We're almost there."

"Almost where?" Derek muttered.

Stiles sighed. "Your house."

Clearly, Stiles didn't know about our new small apartment, so he's taking us to the Hale House. I rolled my eyes and Derek snapped his head to Stiles.

"What?" Derek snapped. "You can't take me there."

"I can't take you to your own house?" Stiles exclaimed.

"Not when I can't protect myself,"

"Faya can protect you, you'll be fine," Stiles pointed out.

Derek shakes his head. "I'm not putting her in danger."

"What? I can totally protect you!" Usually, no one ever argues with Derek Hale. He gets his way. But not when it comes to me; we argue all the time.

Stiles pulls over. "What happens if Scott doesn't find your little magic bullet? Hmm? Are you dying?"

"Not yet," Derek answers. "I have a last resort."

"What do you mean?!" Stiles yells and I nod my head in agreement. "What last resort?!" My mouth dropped as Derek revealed the bullet in his arm. "Oh, my God. What is that?! Oh, is that contagious? You know what, you should probably just get out."

Derek breaths out heavily. "Start the car. Now."

"I don't think you should be barking orders with the way you look, okay?" Stiles had argued back. Colour me impressed. After that, I have mad respect for Stiles. "In fact, I think if I wanted to, I could probably drag your little werewolf ass out into the middle of the road and leave you for dead."

I clapped my hands, applauding the man. Derek shoots me a glare. I let out a tiny laugh, my claps dying down. He then looked at Stiles. "Start the car, or I'm gonna rip your throat out... With my teeth."

I rolled my eyes at Derek's threat. The number of times Derek has used that threat and never actually done it.

What a pussy.

Dead silences. Stiles stares at Derek for a long time before turning his head towards the front. The sound of Stiles' Jeep purrs and we're off down the road.

Aimlessly, we drive around for hours and it's nearly nightfall as Stiles keeps trying to call Scott.

"Oh!" I burst out, leaning forward to Derek. "Did I tell you I got an A+ on my test?"

Derek gave me a weak smile. "Nice job, Fay,"

"Thanks," I smiled back. "Do I really have to go to the safe house?" I asked in a quieter tone.

"I don't want you getting hurt by the Argents," Derek tells me. "You're the only family I have left. I'm not letting you die."

"But, Derek, you're the only family I have left too." I reminded him. "And look who's talking! You're the one with a bullet in your arm and you're gonna die in 48 hours!" My voice wavered a bit.

He winced. "I'm trying to keep you safe."

"What if I kept safe and kept my distance from Kate?" I suggested. "She doesn't know what I look like, right?"

"No," Derek grunted. "She's never met you. But, once you say your name to her, she will know you. That's one of the reasons why I don't want you to hang around Allison anymore."

Chris has already threatened me... But Kate's worse. She's the one that burnt down my entire family. She tricked my brother thinking she's one of the good guys, they dated and when the time was right, Kate burnt my family to the ground.

"But... But—"

"Seriously, Faya, we'll talk later," Derek tells me. "After I survive."

"But... What if you don't?" I whisper. My heart aches at the thought of losing Derek too. Losing Laura was completely unexpected, but knowing I could lose Derek in under two days is heartbreaking too.

"Don't worry, I will," Derek reassured me. I had completely forgotten Stiles' is in the car with us. I bite my lip and leant back.
"Well, I found Derek Hale's soft spot," Stiles spoke and we both shot him a glare. "Hey, I'm not gonna tell anyone! Just use it against you," Stiles' side glanced at us. "Maybe."

"Call Scott again," Derek had growled. Derek looks even worse. Stiles quickly sent Derek a text and I looked out the window.

Holy, it's actually pitch black. We've been driving for hours. "He's not replying!" Stiles tells us.

"Spam him, be annoying," I advised him. "Just like when I spam text Derek about the lack of groceries in the house."

I see Stiles typing constantly as we're pulled over now on the side of the road. Finally, Scott calls.

"What am I supposed to do with him?" Stiles angrily speaks. He sighed. "And, by the way, he's starting to smell." Pause. "Like death." Another pause. "What about your boss?" Pause. Stiles sighed and put the phone on speaker. "You're not gonna believe where he's telling me to take you."

"Did you find it?" Derek questioned.

"How am I supposed to find one bullet?" Scott whispers on the other end of the phone. "They have a million. This house is like... The fricken' Walmart of guns."

"Look, if you don't find it, then I'm dead, all right?" Derek reminds him.

"I'm starting to think that wouldn't be such a bad thing," Scott remarks.

"Think about this," Derek begins. "The Alpha calls you out against your will. He's gonna do it again. Next time you either kill with him or you get killed. So if you wanna stay alive, then you need me. Find the bullet."

Derek hangs up. I leant forward. "So... Where are we taking him?"

Stiles smirks. "The animal clinic."

--

Eventually, we got to the Animal Clinic. Unlocking the place, we got into the back area where all the food is kept for the animals.

Stiles' phone goes off. Turning on the lights as Derek sits down on the sack of food, Stiles pulls out his phone.

"Does Northern Blue Monkshood mean anything to you?" Stiles questioned, looking up from his phone.

"It's a rare form of wolfsbane," Derek replied, holding his arm. "He has to bring me the bullet."

"Why?" Stiles asked.

Derek made eye contact with Stiles. "'Cause I'm gonna die without it."

We manoeuvred inside the clinic. Derek's taking off his shirt as Stiles turns on the lights. I cringed looking at the wound. Veins were going up his arm, blood everywhere.

"You know," Stiles begins. "That really doesn't look like anything some echinacea and a good night of sleep couldn't take care of."

"When the inflation reaches my heart, it'll kill me," Derek breathlessly speaks and my heart pounds.

"No." I whimpered out. I was not ready to lose Derek. Not yet. Derek stumbles over to the top cabinet and opens it.

"Positivity just isn't in your vocabulary, is it?" Stiles questioned. Derek opens a few more cabinets.

"If he doesn't get here with the bullet in time..." Derek opens a draw. "Last resort."

"Which is?"

Derek pulls out a handsaw from the draw and my eyes widen. Derek looked at Stiles. "You're gonna cut off my arm."

Stiles stares at him with his mouth opened in shock. "Maybe your sister could do it—"

"Derek, no," I whimpered again, walking to him. "No, you can't... I... I won't allow it."

Derek shakes his head. "He has to... In order for me to live." 

"I don't want you to die," I admit, my voice wavering. "I can't..."

"I know, I know," Derek tells me gently. "I'm not ready to leave the world without you. Which is why I need him to cut off my arm."

Derek hands Stiles the handsaw. Stiles turns it on. "Oh, my God." He drops it on the bench. With a piece of rope, Derek wraps it around his arm tightly. "What if you bleed to death?"

"It'll heal if it works."

Stiles sighed, his face scrunching up in disgust. "Look... I don't know if I can do this..."

"Why not?"

"Well, because of the cutting of the flesh, the sawing of the bone, and especially the blood!" Stiles exclaimed.

I let out a laugh. "You faint at the sight of blood?" The respect for Stiles is dropping by the minute.

Stiles shoots me a look. "No, but I might at the sight of a chopped-off arm!"

Derek sighed, breathing heavily. "All right, fine. How about this? Either you cut off my arm, or I'm gonna cut off your head."

"Okay, you know what, I'm so not buying your threats anymore—" Derek had grabbed a hold of Stiles, slamming him to the desk. "Oh, my God, okay! All right, bought, sold. Totally, I'll do it. I'll do it."

Derek then dipped his head towards the ground. "What are you doing?" I asked cautiously. My mouth dropped when black blood came out of Derek's mouth and onto the floor.

"Holy God, what is that?" Stiles cried out.

"It's my body... Trying to heal itself." Derek explained.

"Well, it's not doing a very good job of it," Stiles comments.

Derek looked up at Stiles. "Now. You gotta do it now."

"Look, honestly, I don't think I can," Stiles admits.

"Just do it!"

"Oh, my God," Stiles grabbed the handsaw. "Okay, okay," he turns on the handsaw and I turned around.  I couldn't bear to see my brother get his own arm cut off for the sake of surviving. God, this really shows how bad my world is... "Oh, my God! Okay, here we go..."

"Stiles?" I turned back around to see Scott entering the building and I sighed with relief. Hopefully, he has the bullet...

"Scott?"

Scott's eyes widen as he takes in the situation. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Stiles lets out a laugh, putting down the handsaw. "Oh, you just prevented a lifetime of nightmares."

Derek looked over at Scott. "Did you get it?"

Scott pulls the bullet out from his pocket, handing him the bullet. Derek holds it up, examining the bullet.

"What are you gonna do with it?" Stiles questioned.

"I'm gonna... I'm gonna..." My eyes widened when Derek collapsed on the ground.

"Derek!" I cried out, ignoring the bullet that rolls out of his hand and into the drain. I dropped down to my hands and knees, holding Derek's unconscious face. "He kind of looks peaceful..."

"Oh, my God!" The two boys behind me cried out. Scott slides on the ground to get to the drain.

Scott groaned in annoyance, trying to reach for the bullet. "Derek," Stiles climbs on top of Derek.

"What the hell are you doing?" I questioned Stiles.

"Derek, come on, wake up!" Stiles yelled out, grabbing Derek's face and slapping him gently. My heart pounds and I began to feel myself getting heated up.

I let out a squeak when I see flames from my hands. "Stiles!"

Stiles lets out a yell, jumping back when he sees me. "What the hell is that?!"

"Stiles, she needs to be calm!" Scott yelled back, still trying to get to the bullet. His face is squished against the floor. "Calm her down!"

"How?!" Stiles yelled back.

"Speak softly! Tell her everything's gonna be alright..."

I know why I'm acting up. The thought of Derek dying is stressing me out. "Ah, Faya..." Stiles speaks, his voice wavering. He's nervous to be around me. He inches closer.

"No," I tell him, pulling away from him. "I don't want to hurt anyone." My eyes wander down to Derek. "He's not gonna wake up, is he? He's dying..."

I noticed something in Stiles' eyes. "Faya, watch this," Stiles towers over Derek. He then mutters, "don't kill me for this," before punching Derek across the face.

Derek wakes up instantly, gasping and my heart pounds. Derek notices me first. "Faya! Say the ABO!"

"But that doesn't work for me!" I cried out. "I'm not like you!" I stand up, scared that I'm going to set this place on fire. "Derek, I'm scared!"

"Think of something... A happy memory, friends, family..."

"Why don't you want to play with me?" Cora Hale whined at Faya. The six-year-olds are in the Hale House, on a Saturday afternoon. 

"Because I'm going to watch Derek play basketball with Laura," Faya tells her sister. These twins are completely opposite of each other. "I got invited!"

Faya's more of a tomboy, Cora's the girly girl. Cora likes to dress up and have tea parties with their Uncle Peter, while Faya spends time with her older brother, Derek playing video games and basketball.

"Why didn't I get invited?" Cora asks.

"Because you don't like basketball," Faya pointed out. "I get to stay up late!" Faya laughs at her sister's face.

"What!" Cora whined. "Why can't I stay up late?! Mum! Dad!" Cora races out of their bedroom.

Cora and Faya share a bedroom. On one side is Faya's, which is dressed up in head to toe basketball and other sports. While Cora's is all princesses like.

Once Faya was ready, she made her way down the grand staircase. Her family is spread out on the bottom floor.

"I'm ready!" Faya exclaimed as Laura approached her. Laura grinned widely at her sister.

"Looking good, Fay," Laura complimented her. "Derek, let's go! We'll be late!"

"Coming!" Somewhere from upstairs yelled Derek Hale.

"Is my princess off?" Andrew Hale spoke, walking towards Faya. He picks up Faya and Faya makes a face. Faya absolutely hated the nickname princess.

"We'll be back before ten," Laura promises her father, kissing him on the cheek. Talia Hale comes in with Cora, holding her.

Derek comes racing down the stairs. "We're gonna be late!"

"And whose fault is that?" Talia raised an eyebrow at Derek. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Can we go now pwease?" Faya whined, making their parents chuckle.

"We love you guys," Andrew tells his kids. "See you before ten,"

"I love you Faya!" Screamed Cora as Laura picks up Faya, the three of them making their way out of the Hale House.

Faya grins back. "I love you too, Cora!"

"Oh! I got it! I got it!" I snapped back into reality and watched as Scott pulled out the bullet. I looked down at my hands. My flames are gone.

"Give me that," Derek takes the bullet from Scott. Stiles scrambled off Derek and Derek gets up with the help of the boys, leaning on the bench.

Derek bites the cap off the bullet, spitting the cap out of his mouth. He taps the cap onto the bench, some powder coming out.

With a lighter, he lights the powder on fire. He scoops it up and pushes it into his wound. He lets out a scream as he shoves in the powder.

Derek falls onto the floor, you can hear some of his wolf coming out. I watched with wide eyes as the bullet heals instantly.

"That... Was... Awesome!" Stiles yelled out. "Yes!"

Derek stands up, he eyes me carefully. He walked towards me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yes... Are you okay?"

"Well, except for the agonizing pain," Derek sarcastically responded, making me roll my eyes. Seriously.

"I'm guessing the ability to use sarcasm is a good sign of health," I told him. Derek and I stand opposite the boys.

"Okay, we saved your life," Scott begins. "Which means you're gonna leave us alone, you got that? And if you don't, I'm gonna go back to Allison's Dad, and I'm gonna tell him everything--"

"You're gonna trust them?" Derek spoke, his voice hardens. Even I felt slightly betrayed by Scott. He can't do that... He'll get himself killed. "You think they can help you?"

"Well, why not?" Scott fired back. "They're a lot freakin' nicer than you guys are."

My mouth dropped. Hold on... I thought we had something good going on. I thought I was nice!

Derek scoffed. "I can show you how nice they are."

I nod in agreement. "What do you mean?" Scott asked, having this sceptical look in his eye.

--

We pulled up to Beacon Hills' hospital. I nervously sat in the car. I haven't visited my Uncle in so long... I should've done it earlier, but it pains me to see Uncle Peter in that condition. Sat in a wheelchair for so many years. In a coma. Half his face burned off.

"What are we doing here?" Scott asked as we exited Derek's car. Scott followed Derek and I as we lead him to our Uncle's room.

In the small room, we opened the door. Even though it's past visiting hours, I don't really care. I missed Uncle Peter. My heart squeezes at the sight of him.

I let out a whimper. "Oh, Peter..." I walked over to him, bending down in front of him. He was still in his coma. "I'm so sorry I haven't visited you in a while... You must be so lonely,"

"Who is he?" Scott asked gently, watching me.

"Our Uncle," Derek solemnly says. "Peter Hale."

"Is he..." Scott looked over at Derek as I rejoined them, biting my lip. "Like you, a werewolf?"

"He was," Derek replied, nodding his head. "Now he's barely even human. Six years ago, my sisters and I were at school, and our house caught fire. 11 people were trapped inside. He was the only survivor."

I let out a quiet sob. I forgot that there were 11 people... A little less than half of them were our family. I missed them. Mum, Dad, and Cora.

"So... What makes you so sure that they set the fire?" Scott questioned.

"'Cause they're the only ones that knew about us," I told Scott.

"Well, then... They had a reason." Scott stated.

Derek frowned deeply. "Like what?" Derek challenges his statement. "You tell me what justifies this." Derek turns over Peter's... Uglier side. His burnt side.

"They say they'll only kill an adult, and only with absolute proof," venom seeps through my voice. "But there were people in our family that were perfectly ordinary in that fire." My mind flashes back to Cora instantly.

She was so innocent... And young...

"This is what they do," Derek continued on for me. "And it is what Allison will do."

"What are you doing?" Jennifer, Peter's nurse, comes storming into the room. "How did you get in here?"

"We were just leaving," Derek spoke in a monotone. He takes my hand and pulls me out, Scott following me.

I looked over my shoulder. "Bye Peter..."

I'll see him again soon. And this time, I'll tell him more about me. What I've done. What I haven't done. He must be so lonely. I wish I did more things with him. I wish I could've played basketball with him, or do something. Cora got to spend a lot of time with him.

I sighed, leaving the building.

One day... When he gets better.