The Feud (Young Derek Hale)

18

This is it, the day I potentially die.

I felt my breath escape me as I stared into the depths of Hale territory. My toes standing on the treaty line in hesitation. I bit my lip in fear as I stared at the sky. "La route est dure mais c'est notre route".

As if muttering my packs motto might provide me with some sort of comfort. It didn't. It only highlights how real this is. The road is hard but it is our road. Being a werewolf is hard and I fucked up, so now I have to face the consequences. Those consequences being hard of all things is putting it mildly. 

I don't want to walk this road. I don't want accept my fate. I don't want to accept that my life is hard. I...I wish this wasn't my life. 

...I want to be human.

A silent tear crept down my cheek as I sniffed rather loudly and wiped it away. Never again, remember?.

I can't think like that. I can't talk like that. My brother's voice entered my head. 'The pack won't react kindly to it'. I'm guessing neither would the Hale's. Everyone looks at it as if it's a gift and not a curse. But I always feel like it's the latter. What good has being a werewolf ever given me?!?

A family more like a cult?, the knowledge that at sixteen I might be taken away by strangers to devote myself to another?, pain every full moon?...

Stop! Stop thinking like that.

I rolled out my shoulders and stared down at the dirt in-front of my feet. I've crossed it before right?. Surely I can do it again. I swallowed and took a hesitant foot forward. Looking both ways before finally lifting my other foot and standing officially in their territory. 

I felt comforted. I sniffed again. Was this the reason I'd crossed all those weeks ago?. This feeling right here?. The one where my body and soul feels as though I've been wrapped in blankets, comforted by love. Surely even I'm not that stupid to have crossed for this feeling.

I wiped another tear from my cheek. Maybe I'm not the only Wood to experience it, but just the only one that's lived to know about it. Over the countless centuries of the feud. Surely, the Woods of the past that entered here felt this too before they were...burned, tortured, beheaded and crucified. At least I can be comforted that all my ancestors who have died on this ground might of felt the same peace that I do now, while they died such un-peaceful deaths. 

If I screamed out for Derek would he save me from her?. If I died staring into his eyes while I begged and pleaded...that I love him, if I told them it was all worth it because I'm in love...

I could picture it now. The laughs, the mocking. After all, what does an unmatured wolf like myself know of love?. What is regular love, human love compared to the supernatural binding of two souls?. What is what I have compared to my mate?....who now will never know me, or how I died for someone that wasn't him. 

There's shame in that. Shame that not only falls on me but my pack by association. My pack! The reason I'm here in the first place. For my sister, who despite how much I constantly belittle is my favourite sibling. The one that despite our differences always checks up on me and has taken on that motherly role that she knew was missing from her own life and wished for me to know. And my brother, my rock. The one who always seems to have to sacrifice for this family. His first love, his dream career and the dream to travel to be someone outside of the Wood name. The one I know will never judge me no matter what. Then there's my mother. Blinded by love for her mate to the point her morals are questionable, but always devoted. And if not to him then she'd probably see more of us three standing behind her glamorous self. I still love her despite it all. 

My grandparents, our packs elders who take it upon themselves to keep to themselves. I sniffed out a laugh. At least if I die today I'll never have to cook with my Nana again. My laugh suddenly turned to a sob. She loves it when I do cook with her, despite living with her mate surrounded by family, I know the lost look in her eye. She misses her pack and I'll never forget how she use to whisper in my ear 'You my little wolf, are strong just my like my sister'. A sister she hadn't seen since she was sixteen. I knew that my death will affect my grandmother deeply. Even when I was punished it was her hand that gripped mine tight with a strained smile as she muttered 'think of how much stronger you'll be". Because she couldn't say anything negative about a practice that has worked so efficiently in our pack to keep the peace. One that's proven to have worked. 

Then there's my father. My Alpha. Would he think me brave or stupid for taking it upon myself to walk in here willingly?!?. After everything. The lessons, the trust and recently choosing family against the law of our kind. I sobbed, fighting the urge to fall to the ground in defeat. 

I've failed them. 

I don't how long I stood there crying my eyes out in Hale territory. It could've been ten minutes or ten hours. It's dark so I'm leaning more towards hours. I blinked in the darkness and wiped my eyes for probably the hundredth time today. It's surprising they've just left me alone in their woods to cry.

It's not like they don't know I'm here. Not now that it's been hours and my scent, however faint would of alerted them that I'm here. Here in their territory, a foreign wolf. They know this area as well as I know my own territory. Like every tree has been engraved into their heads since birth.  And they know, they know even an un-mature wolf like myself can follow their scent to wherever their den lays.

I frowned, how ominous. I took a deep breath in... axe body spray, soft crisp bark and a hint of berry. Derek.

My scenes are good. I can use all of them simultaneously but for some reason he's the only scent I can focus on. I growled in frustration. I cant just follow it, what if he's just chilling in the woods and not in his house!?!.

I need to find their house, I need to find Thalia.

Okay, focus. I breathed in again and all I got is Derek Hale. Oh Fuck it! it's better than nothing. 

With a scoff and roll of my eyes I started walking in the direction of Derek. Let's hope he can convince his mother not to kill me.

A/N:

Should have the next chapter up in a couple of hours, just haven't finished writing this yet and didn't want to make one long ass chapter.