Brother || Teen Wolf

Chapter 41 - Figured Out

"You're alive."

Jamie couldn't believe his eyes. He blinked, thinking it would make the impossible sight in front of him disappear, but the man he thought was dead was still there, as broody and intimidating as ever. Derek Hale was alive. Jamie felt a smile tug at his lips and had to fight the urge to hug the grumpy man, knowing he would probably hate it. Also, Derek was busy wrestling Scott to the ground, preventing the young wolf from harming anyone that night. The older werewolf finally managed to bring Scott back to his senses by roaring in his face, under the gaze of three teenagers who all felt rather useless.

"What's happening to me?" Scott groaned, looking around him in confusion. He had no memory of how he got there, but he suspected it has something to do with the white orb that made the worst of him resurface every month. Derek helped him up and his friends surrounded him, all offering comforting smiles and expressing how sorry they were to have failed at containing him properly.

"Exactly what he wants to happen," Derek answered. He suddenly looked to the side, his eyes catching movement inside the Argent house. He put a finger to his mouth and silently gestured for everyone to hide from the hunters. They piled up inside Lydia's car and she drove them away, following the road with no idea where she was going. She figured reaching the Hale house was a good start, so once the hunters' house was no longer in sight, that was where she headed.

The ride was not long, but it was mostly silent, except for a few groans whenever Lydia took a sharp turn, sending the four people at the back in uncomfortable positions. Once arrived, they sat down on an old carpet in the middle of an empty room that smelled like ash and dust, and that was about as welcoming as the rest of the ruined house. Both Lydia and Stiles appeared in deep thought, reviewing the events of the night, while Scott stared at his feet, a pained expression on his features. As for Jamie, he was glancing regularly at Derek, making sure he was really there and not just the result of some kind of supernatural hallucination. Derek didn't appear to mind being under scrutiny, although it was always difficult assessing the mood of someone who the teens had never seen display any emotion other than boredom or irritation. Stiles was the first one of them to speak, incapable of waiting any longer to ask the hundred questions that had popped inside his head ever since they had left his house.

"Okay, how are you alive? Why didn't you say anything? What--"

Derek shot Stiles a look that instantly made him silent, "I'm a werewolf. I healed," he replied in his usual bored tone. "And I had to hide because someone made me a fugitive. Again."

The look on Stiles' face would have made them laugh, if the situation had not been so serious. If they were seen with Derek, they would probably be questioned by the police and possibly arrested for aiding a criminal. As Lydia realised in that moment, coming here was not a good idea. It was best not to linger, so the teens got up on their feet and moved to the door. Scott turned on his heels and shot Derek a desperate look.

"Wait, I can't do this," he sighed, "I can't be this and be with Allison. I need you to tell me the truth. Is there a cure?"

Derek didn't answer immediately, taking his time to think. It made him appear suspicious in everyone but Scott's eyes, adding yet another item on the long list of reasons they had not to trust him. They didn't say anything, however, their curiosity getting the best of them.

"For someone who was bitten? I've heard of one. I don't know if it's true," Derek answered, his eyes on Scott and Scott alone, as if the others weren't even in the room.

"Well, what is it?"

"You have to kill the one that bit you," Derek stated in an emotionless voice.

"Kill the Alpha?" Scott repeated, hoping he had misheard. But the expression on Derek's face told him he had heard properly, crushing his hopes of ever being fully human again. Killing someone, alpha werewolf or not, was not something Scott was prepared to do, no matter the reward.

"Scott," Derek brought the younger wolf's attention back to him, "If you help me find him, I'll help you kill him."

Derek was about to turn on his heels when a smell caught his attention, a smell emanating from one of his young visitors. It was the unmistakable scent of doubt, laced with the uneasiness that was brought upon anyone faced with a dilemma. Derek squinted his eyes and took another intake of breath, hoping to identify whoever in their group was in distress. His eyes fell on Jamie, who was biting his lower lip, his head cast down.

"Now leave, all of you," Derek instructed, the grumpiness in his tone making none of the teens feel like staying. "Except you," he added, his eyes fixated on Jamie.

Lydia and Jamie exchanged a look, Jamie silently telling her he would be fine and to leave without him. He didn't live far away from the Hale house, so he could easily go home on his own, and he was confident Derek didn't wish him harm. He waited for his friends, especially Scott, to be out of earshot before he looked at Derek, a bitter smile on his face.

"What gave it away?"

"Chemo signals," Derek replied. Jamie waited for him to elaborate, but Derek was not in a teaching mood. He crossed his arms, "What's going on?"

"You know, the Alpha that you want to kill so badly you just lied to Scott?" Jamie said in a careful tone. Derek nodded and encouraged him to continue, ignoring the teen's accusation. "Well... it's my father. My biological father, I mean."

Derek froze, wide-eyed. "Of course," he whispered. Suddenly, everything made sense and he knew exactly who the Alpha was. He looked at Jamie, his expression unreadable.

"There's someone you need to meet."