Human is Just a Word 52/?
Chapter 52
Derek was good at playing human, every werewolf was. It was the one thing parents taught their children from a very young age. Inside the pack you can be yourself but out there, you have to pass as human. Nowadays it wasn't that big of an issue anymore, hunters were a rare thing and killing a werewolf counted as murder even by human laws but it was seeded deeply in every werewolf. A fear born from centuries of being hunted.
So Derek was good at playing human. However, he rarely had to do it twenty-four seven. In most cases his interactions with humans were brief and he could retreat to the safety of his pack whenever he wanted. Now his pack and territory were far away, he missed his mate, and he was living with Maria. Over the day they spent a lot of time together and even if they were working apart, there were other humans Derek had to interact with.
He kind of stuck to Brett and he was grateful that the other werewolf was kind enough to shield him a little bit but he could never avoid the other people working at the institute entirely. And in the evening he went home with Maria and they spent hours together until they parted for the night.
Derek liked his internship and he really liked Maria but playing human all the time exhausting. He did slip up a few times, responding to something he shouldn't have been able to hear or smelling that the garlic Maria had in the pan was about to burn before the smell was strong enough for a human nose to pick up. Little things.
When she commented that he had a good nose, he tried to laugh it off and said something about when Stiles had tried out a new recipe and it backfired.
He got away with it for a while but then the weekend came around and he was stuck with Maria all day without the chance to switch to other people.
It was Saturday evening, they were sitting on the couch again with a glass of wine and were discussing something work related.
Derek tried to focus, it was an interesting topic and he really enjoyed these discussions with her, but there was this dog across the street who had picked up his scent the other day. Since the dog had noticed the werewolf in its neighborhood, it went nuts every time it got a whiff of Derek's scent. Which it most likely had when Derek had brought out the garbage an hour ago. The dog hadn't stopped pacing the yard since then. Derek heard it sniffing and running up and down. It was like a dripping faucet, once you are aware of it ...
"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Maria asked and with that Derek's attention snapped back to her.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled but he still had half an ear out for that damn dog. At least she didn't seem to be angry. With a fond smile she filled their glasses again.
"I know that my company is not exactly what a fine young man like you would prefer."
"That's not ..." Derek protested. He stopped and let out a sigh. "I do enjoy your company." He said and gave her a smile. "I really do, it's just ..." Outside the dog let out a bark which even Maria heard.
"I wonder what's up with him." She shook her head. "He's usually a quiet dog, most of the time I forget he's even there."
The dog was back to sniffing the air but Derek just waited for the next barking fit.
When he focused back on Maria, she was studying him with a curious expression. Caught she hurried to busy herself with her glass.
"What?" Derek asked.
"I just wondered." She let out a little laugh and fiddled with her glass. "It's stupid, forget I said anything."
Derek closed his eyes for a second, he had a pretty good idea of what she was wondering about. Stiles called it that listening tilt and Derek was pretty sure that he'd done it just now. He didn't know how often he had slipped up over the last few days, most of it he probably hadn't even noticed, but Maria was a scientist. She was used to look at data and see a pattern.
"Maria." He said softly. "You can ask."
He didn't want to out himself just based on a feeling but he wouldn't deny it if she outright asked him. For a moment it looked like she wouldn't.
"Derek, are you human?"
"No." He admitted. He put his glass on the table. "I can stay at a hotel if you feel better that way." Safer, but he didn't say that. "And if you have concerns about our contract, I would understand that." Not many of his clients knew that he was a werewolf. But some did, with the history of the Hale pack a little more thorough Google search was all it took, and not all of them wanted to work with a werewolf.
Derek hunched in on himself, trying to not look like the apex predator he was. Maria had taken a huge risk with taking in a man she barely knew and he didn't want to make her regret that decision.
Suddenly her hand was on his forearm. Her heart-beat was steady and she smelled content.
"No, Derek." She said softly. "Please stay."
Herelaxed under her touch.
"I've never met a werewolf." She admitted. "At least not that I know of. I've probably met a few."
Derek could tell her that one of her coworkers was one but it wasn't his place to out another werewolf.
"We are mostly harmless."
"If you say so, Ford." She gave him a wink and a pat on his arm before she reached for her glass of wine again.
"I'm not an alien." Derek followed her lead and dared to make himself more comfortable again.
"But you're not human either."
Derek couldn't deny that.
For a moment they sat in silence and Derek just waited for the questions. There were always questions. And sometimes some rude demands to show his fangs and eyes.
"So Stiles is not just your boyfriend, he's your mate." She went in a direction Derek hadn't anticipated. "Is he a werewolf too?"
"No, he's human." Derek couldn't help but smile at the thought of Stiles.
"You really love him." Maria stated and her voice had something motherly Derek hadn't heard in a while.
"We wouldn't be mates otherwise." Derek had to swallow against the sudden lump in his throat.
"But your alpha hasn't turned him?" She asked as if it was a sign of disapproval from their alpha but then she seemed to notice something in his expression. "Sorry, I don't know much about this."
"Not many humans outside of a pack know much about us." Maybe it was their own fault that humans didn't understand them. But eons of fear didn't just vanish in a matter of a few years. "Stiles doesn't have to be a werewolf to be my mate. It's his decision." Derek had a vivid memory of Stiles' outrage at the very thought of taking the bite. He had chosen to get raped and to live as Derek's human pet over the bite without a second of hesitation.
Maria accepted his words without questions. She didn't seem to have the same prejudices Derek had witnessed in other people before. His own mate had come into his pack with some horrific ideas about werewolves.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anybody." She said it in a conspiracy low voice and bumped their shoulders. "As for your other concerns, I like you, Derek, I really do and knowing that you are a werewolf doesn't change that. You're a good person."
Now Derek really had to fight the tightness in his chest. Acceptance was not the most common reaction when somebody found out about his nature.
"Thank you." He cleared his throat. "But there is one other thing you should know."
He lifted his head and locked eyes with her. Then he let the red bleed into his eyes.
"You're an alpha." She gasped but didn't shy away.
Alphas had the reputation of being brutes even without alphas like Peter setting a bad example. If this changed her opinion on him, Derek would accept it and leave.
The red left his eyes and he looked away.
"And now you look like a kicked puppy." Her hand was back on his arm. "Thank you for trusting me enough to show me this side of you." She sounded serious and her heart didn't skip a beat.
"You concluded werewolf on your own." Derek reminded her. "Since I'm your guest you deserve to know the rest." He held his breath just in case she decided to kick him out after all.
"Don't worry about that and tell me what was bothering you earlier."
Grateful for the change of topic Derek let out a laugh. "The dog across the street, he knows that there's a werewolf around and it's driving him crazy."
"And that's driving you crazy." She concluded. "They take him inside for the night but until than how about some music?"
Without waiting for his answer she got up and moments later soft guitar music was filling the air. It was loud enough to cover up the noises from that damn dog but low enough so that they could carry on with their conversation.
Five minutes later they were back at discussing the last few days at the institute and if Derek would like to join them again on their weekly after work get together at the bar. The question came so naturally, not even a hint of the forced I have to include the werewolf he had seen so often, so he said yes with an easy smile. Stiles would have been proud of him, being social and all that.
It was late when they parted for the night and since he didn't have to fear getting caught, Derek slept in his fur that night. He always felt more secure that way, especially when he was away from his pack but he rarely dared to do it. Just another reason why he didn't really like traveling.
He slept like a puppy but in the morning he hesitated to leave his room. Maria had a night to think and there was no way to tell if she had changed her mind.
Derek squared his shoulders and braced himself for every possibility before he entered the kitchen where he heard her rummaging around. The scent of coffee hit his nose so it couldn't be that bad, right?
"Don't just stand there, take a seat." She gestured with a spatula at him and Derek hurried to follow her order. It was just a normal morning like the others before. Maria tried to drown him in coffee and clog his arteries with grease and he loved every second of it. Nothing had changed and after a while Derek stopped waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It was Sunday so they didn't have to work. Derek had feared that it would be a long day of awkwardness but once they had taken care of the dishes, Maria got her research and Derek his laptop and notebook and they spent the whole day with preparations for Derek's translation of her book.
Derek hadn't even noticed how much energy it ate up to play human but now he didn't have to worry with every turn if he passed or not and it felt good. He dared to relax.
Marie just smiled at him when he sniffed his food before he took the first bite.
Of course everything went south when Stiles called that evening.
"Hey, Stiles." Derek answered with a smile when he saw his mate's name on the display. However, the smile died on his lips when Stiles didn't answer immediately. Derek could tell that something was very wrong by the way his mate was breathing alone.
"It's … it's about Laura."
Chapter 53
Masterpost