Perigee

Chapter 13

A knock on the wooden door frame jolted me from my nap. “Derek?” it was Cora’s soft voice. I sat up. I was finally able to sleep. Stiles had finished healing and was helping to take care of Calix. I could tell that Cora felt bad for waking me, but she was my sister and I would always make time for her.

“What is it?” I asked, patting a spot on the bed, inviting her to sit next to me.

“I’m going to be leaving in a month and I need to ask a favor of you,” she said.

“Of course!” I put my arm around her, squeezing her to my side. “Anything.”

“There’s a friend of mine. His father beats him up and I’m not going to be here to help him once I move off to college,” she explained. “I was wondering if you could possibly turn him… bring him into the pack. He’d be much happier here… and safer.”

I remembered a kid from Cora’s graduation party. There were splotches on his skin that made me suspect abuse. I remember him being really sweet. I would definitely do what it took to protect him. “I’ll talk to Dad about it… but Cora… turning someone has its risks. The bite of an Alpha can also kill a person.”

“He locks Isaac in a freezer because he knows that Isaac is claustrophobic. Even dying would be better than the life he lives,” Cora said. “And his father deserves much worse than death.”

“I don’t disagree with you about his father… but in the end, it has to be Isaac’s choice,” I replied. “And we need to ask the rest of the Pack. Bringing him in will affect them, too.”

She looked downtrodden. “But what if they say no?”

“Even if they don’t want me to turn him, I will still protect him,” I promised.

“Thank you, Derek,” she said, leaning up and giving me a kiss on the cheek. “This really means a lot to me.”

That night as we sat down for dinner, I cleared my throat and put forth Cora’s request. I could see her shifting nervously, wanting so much for the family to agree.

“Do you feel that the risk is worth the benefit of turning him?” Dad asked.

I nodded. “I do. Nobody should have to live like that. But I won’t offer him the bite unless we are all agreed that we should add him to our pack.”

“What’s the option of we’re not all agreed?” Laura asked.

“I’ll do my best to protect him,” I replied.

“And how will you protect us? I mean, after all… you’ll be exposing what we are to someone,” she pointed out. “Sure, we can protect ourselves. But what about Calix or my child?”

I hadn’t thought of it like that. What if he didn’t want the bite? What if my attempt to help put him at risk? What if my attempt to help put us all at risk… especially the children?

“I say we deal with that if it comes up. We need to help him, though,” Dad said.

Stiles shrugged. “I can look through one of the books and see if there’s something about memory magic.”

Modifying the kid’s memory was something that I was hesitant to do. It seemed like a violation of his personhood akin to rape. “I don’t want to go that route.” He gave a nod. “So let’s vote. Who is in favor?”

As I looked around, everyone’s hand was raised, even Laura’s. We were unanimous in our decision. Isaac Lahey was to be offered the bite.

*************************

Cora, Stiles, and I sat at a café waiting on Isaac to show. “It’s been 45 minutes, are you sure he’s coming?” Stiles asked.

“He said he would,” Cora replied. “He always tries to get out of the house when he can.”