Human is Just a Word 58/?
Chapter 58
The second Derek left Loreen's room Charles rushed in to sit at his daughter's side. At least now he could do that. They didn't need to worry about infection or anything like that any longer. The bite would take or not.
The doctors were fussing over her anyway. But that also meant that nobody was hovering in the background when Derek went over to their second patient.
He found Mark in the same condition as Loreen, a sterile room with the antiseptic smell not completely covering up the stench of charred flesh. He was also in a coma and had a tube down his throat. And he was hooked up to a machine monitoring this oxygen level, his heart rate and probably a lot of other stuff. The whooshing of the air forced into his lungs and the constant beeping indicating that his heart was still beating were the only sounds in the room.
"Hey." Derek said around the lump in his throat. He could already fell Loreen in the back of his mind but there was no guarantee that the bite would take. They were both weakened but Mark's parents had been werewolves while Loreen had married into the pack. If that made a difference, Derek didn't know. All he could do was try and hope.
"I know you would rather have Laura here to do this …" He swallowed thickly.
Gently he pulled away the light fabric to bare Mark's throat. With Loreen he had done it quickly without thinking too much about it because of the audience. Here they were alone and Derek made the mistake to think about what he was about to do.
Mark wanted this and the doctors didn't have much hope for him to survive the night but still Derek hesitated.
"You don't have to stay in my pack if you don't want to." He said despite the fact that Mark couldn't hear him. "I just met another pack, they're good people. I can make the contact."
Ellen hadn't hesitated to join his pack but she had needed an alpha and currently he was the only one around. Once the fist shock had worn off she would probably rethink her decision.
Derek shook his head. He could bother with that once Loreen and Mark had become werewolves.
He bared his fangs and sank his teeth into the raw flesh of Mark's throat. The taste of antiseptic and then blood filled his mouth but Derek just bit down harder to make sure that it was done properly.
Since Charles was staying with Loreen, Derek decided to stay with Mark, he shouldn't be alone during this.
Settling in for a long night, Derek dragged over a chair to sit at Mark' side. He took his hand in his and started to drain the pain. The bite was already not only battling with the human DNA but also with the medication they had given him.
A nurse came in to check on them when the heart monitor went crazy. After a moment of consideration she took out the infusions, Mark wouldn't need those any longer.
"How long until we know?" She asked quietly. She hovered at the edge of the bed, a curious eye on her patient and the black lines of drained pain crawling under Derek's skin.
"A few hours." Derek said without taking his eyes off the hopefully soon to be werewolf. Just like Loreen he felt Mark in the back of his mind but the connection wasn't taking hold just yet.
The nurse gave him a warm smile and then she left them alone.
To keep his mind of the battle going on in the body in front of him, and across the hallway, Derek focused on the other pack members he had close by. After long days away from his pack Derek clung to the two strong beacons in his mind. Isaac was close and present, he was with Ellen, Derek could tell. Ellen's presence was still new but they would all get used to it soon.
But there was another beacon that kept his attention. His mate. Stiles was moving towards him, he could feel it. Stiles was coming, that was all that mattered to him right now. It took all of Derek's willpower to not rush to his mate but he didn't want to leave Mark's side, not when the medication was wearing off for good now and his eyes behind closed lids started to move. It would take only minutes now for Mark to wake up to the agony of his injuries.
When Stiles entered the room, Derek couldn't stay in his seat, though. A second later he had Stiles in his arms, nose buried in his mate's neck, and he just held on tight. Stiles smelled like smoke, blood and sweat but he also smelled like Stiles and Derek focused on that.
"I'm sorry." Stiles said into the fabric of his shirt. "About Laura and her pack."
"It's not your fault." Cupping the back of his head Derek drew him closer.
"She went back to Beacon Hills because of me." Stiles choked. "And now she's dead and her pack …" The rest was lost in hot tears.
"Peter did this." Derek said into the soft skin of Stiles' throat. He closed his eyes and just clung to his mate.
He didn't know how long they stood like that. Behind them Mark was becoming more restless, whimpering and moaning in his sleep. Derek opened his eyes and loosened his hold on Stiles when he noticed the young woman standing awkwardly behind Stiles.
He was about to ask who she was but then he recognized her face. Without even thinking he shoved Stiles behind himself, fangs and claws out to attack the enemy.
"Whoa." Stiles held him back with an iron grip on his shoulder. "She's a friend."
"She's Peter's" Derek growled around his fangs. The woman, or rather girl, she seemed to be Stiles' age, just looked at him with wide eyes. He heard her heart rapidly beating in her chest but she didn't even flinch.
"She helped us." Stiles said, not letting go of his shoulder. "Without her we would have been too late. We would have lost way more than five people." With which he confirmed that there was no hope for the two still missing pack members.
"Alpha Derek Hale." She spoke for the first time. Her voice didn't quiver but he could smell the fear on her. "I'm Lydia Martin, I'm seeking refuge in your territory."
"Peter will kill her if he gets the chance." Stiles added.
"She could be a spy." Derek pointed out. Kate's laugh echoed in his mind.
"Why would she help us rescue Laura's pack?" Stiles asked. He slung his other arm around his torso. Not so much holding back but holding on. His forehead rested on Derek's shoulder.
"The whole pack was trapped in that house." He said. "They would have been wiped out completely, one threat gone. Instead you're getting stronger with a bigger pack. I don't know what Peter is planning but I doubt he wants that."
Stronger maybe but still not strong enough to challenge Peter, Derek thought but didn't say it out loud. Hell, half of the remaining pack were children.
Behind him Mark cried out. Derek didn't have time to deal with Lydia right now.
"You can stay." He finally said and hoped that this was not another big mistake. "Stiles, keep an eye on her." With that he peeled his mate off him but paused when he noticed the bandages around Stiles' hands.
"What happened with your hands?" His hand was already on Stiles' forearm to help him with the pain but Stiles waved him off.
"The doors were blocked." He said with a shrug. "Don't worry, I'm on the good stuff right now. No pain at all."
Derek could tell that that was a lie but he didn't call his mate out on it. Both, Stiles and Lydia looked like they had been right in the middle of the fire and Derek was just grateful that his mate wasn't seriously injured.
Since Stiles refused his help, Derek returned to Mark's side. He couldn't do anything to help the bite taking hold but he could at least ease the pain.
"What's he doing?" He heard Lydia whisper to Stiles.
"Taking his pain." Stiles explained and then he was behind Derek again. His fingers carded through his hair and his other hand was resting on his shoulder, grounding him.
"I didn't know werewolves can do that." Curious Lydia stepped closer as well but stopped when Derek let out a warning growl. He might let her stay for now but he wouldn't let her anywhere near Mark while he was this vulnerable.
She immediately stopped and lowered her eyes.
"I came straight here." Stiles tried to defuse the situation. "Are Ellen and the kids alright? You accepted her as your beta, didn't you? I can feel a new connection and I doubt it's one of the kids."
"Yeah, it's Ellen." Derek leaned into his mate's touch but out of the corner of his eye he was still watching Lydia. Just in case. "She needed an alpha. I hope it's okay that I took her in."
"Of course it's okay." Stiles kissed the top of his head. "It was kind of my idea to take the pack in. In fact, Boyd and Erica are already preparing everything to let them crash at our place until we've figured out something more permanent."
The building was Derek's, they could take over another floor. Or the whole building. It shouldn't be too hard to kick out the tenants. And if he gave them some time to find another place to stay he wouldn't even feel too much of an asshole for kicking them out.
If Laura's pack decided to stay with him, that is. Sure, for now they needed an alpha and he was taking in everybody who wanted to join his pack. That didn't mean that they wouldn't find a better option.
He got startled out of his thoughts when he caught Lydia shifting from one foot to the other out of the corner of his eye. Instantly his attention was on her. Stiles trusted her and that was enough to let her stay but it didn't mean that Derek had to trust her as well.
She was staring at them as if she couldn't believe her eyes.
Derek raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"
"Nothing." She hurried to say, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "It's just … Peter would never …" Not sure how to finish the sentence her gaze wandered up from Derek to Stiles as if she expected help from him.
"Peter would never what?" Derek barked. Mark's grip around his hand tightened, that was what he should be focusing on right now.
"Peter would never ask if it was okay to take somebody in." She said, eyes back on him. This time she held her ground and didn't shy back. "He's the alpha, his word is the law. And for sure he would never just let somebody, especially not a claimed human, make decisions for him."
"Well, I'm not Peter." Done with the conversation he turned his attention back to Mark.
"Peter is the exception, actually." Stiles hugged him closer before he let go of him. "I'm going to check on Isaac and Ellen."
Derek just nodded to that. While Loreen and Mark were still battling with the bite, he wouldn't go anywhere.
"Try to get some sleep." He said and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Once everybody is discharged tomorrow, we need to leave. I'll feel much better once everybody is in my territory."
"Me too." Stiles let out a tired sigh and gave him one last pat on the shoulder. When he left, Lydia followed him without a word but over her shoulder she gave Derek a look as if he was a mystery she couldn't quite understand. He got the feeling that she wasn't the kind of person who could leave a mystery alone.
But Derek had some question of himself and once he caught Stiles alone he wanted to know exactly how she had helped them. And why.
Chapter 59
Masterpost