Human is Just a Word 2/?
Chapter 2
Derek drove fast. It was late at night and his car was the only one on the street so he could drive as fast as he wanted.
Damn, Peter, he thought and grabbed the wheel harder. Gritting his teeth, Derek put the foot down on the accelerator, gaining more speed. It probably wasn't safe driving this fast in town, and the sheriff or one of his deputies would have something to say about it for sure, but Derek trusted his reflexes to keep him safely on the road. And a drunk idiot could ram him at any speed so there was that.
He had known that his talk with Peter would be like all the others. Mildly patronizing, laced with disapproval and barely hidden menace. That was nothing new and mainly the reason Derek never took Peter up on the offer to stay at the Hale house.
It had been Derek's childhood home as well but since the fire Derek could barely stand the sight of it. Too many memories.
When Peter had changed it to this monstrosity he called home, Derek had felt somewhat relived. There wasn't much left reminding him of the past but he still wouldn't stay the night there. He would never live it down if he got overwhelmed by emotions there. Peter would smell it and Peter would know. And he would bring it up every chance he got.
So no, Derek wasn't staying under Peter's roof. Instead he'd rented a room across town as far away from the preserve as possible.
Derek drove fast and he was lost in his own thoughts but as an alpha werewolf, he had his ears out constantly. There were too many eager betas out there who would love to catch an alpha off guard. Especially the betas Peter had gathered around himself and called pack.
Derek drove past a still brightly lit grocery store, there were only a few abandoned cars in the lot, and he was past the mouth of the alley when his brain caught up with what his senses were telling him.
He brought the car to a screeching halt. Then he just sat there for a second with his head tilted to pinpoint the direction the noises were coming from. The punches were loud in the silence of the night and they carried far. The harsh breathing and the whimpering sounds were harder to separate but once Derek caught the scent of blood, he was out of the car and running towards the alley.
He recognized the werewolves by scent before he even turned the corner. That Jackson guy, one of those over eager pups he had to be on a constant look-out for, and the twins. Derek didn't have much contact with Peter less alone his pack but he knew them from sight.
They had their backs turned towards him and didn't seem to notice that they weren't alone anymore. The smell of blood was overwhelming now and Derek felt the pull of the moon. It wasn't full anymore but close enough to bring the wolf to the surface.
A growl escaped his throat and the three wolves in front of him froze.
"What are you doing here?" Jackson had turned around and tried to keep on the bravado but Derek smelled his fear. If it was because he was facing an alpha or if it was because Derek had caught them beating a human to death Derek didn't know but he let his eyes flash and growled again.
Now the twins backed off, one of them stumbling over the figure on the ground. The human let out a whimper but didn't move otherwise.
"Go home." Derek ordered. They weren't his betas and technically he was the intruder in another alpha's territory but at least Jackson was coward enough to not challenge him on it. Derek took a step to the side and raised his eyebrows at them.
"Got lucky there, Stilinski." Jackson gave the person at his feet one last kick in the ribs but when Derek growled again, he hurried to get past him. Naturally the twins followed.
Derek waited a moment to make sure that they were really gone before he stepped over to the boy on the ground. It was definitely a boy, he saw now. Sixteen or seventeen, it was hard to tell in the dark and with his face hidden behind his arms.
"They're gone." Derek said but the boy didn't move. He was breathing but that was all. Derek wasn't even sure if he was conscious or not. More on the not side, he guessed.
"What am I going to do with you now?" He sighed. He couldn't just leave him here. It wouldn't surprise him if Jackson and his goons were still in the area, just waiting for him to leave so that they could finish what they had started. Usually it should be over now but with the moon this close to full, Derek didn't know what they would do.
He should call 911 and keep an eye on the boy until the paramedics arrived, preferably out of sight because he wasn't keen on answering questions. As soon as they found out who he was, he would be suspect number one, he knew how that went. He'd been there before and he really didn't want to go through it again.
Or he could just drop the boy off a the hospital himself. He didn't need to stick around but he could make sure that the betas wouldn't come after the human again.
Decision made Derek crouched next to the still motionless figure.
"Hey." He said gently and reached for the battered face still hidden behind the arms. The arms fell under his touch like leaves and Derek's palm connected with a cheek damp with tears and blood. He felt the throbbing pain in the flesh and bone under his hand. It was more instinct than a conscious decision to drain the pain away. He felt it creeping through his veins but compared to what the human must feel it was nothing.
"I have to move you now." Derek informed him but the boy didn't answer. He leaned into Derek's touch and let out a soft sigh which was way more responsive than he had been a minute ago.
As gently as possible Derek scooped him up and carried him bride-style to his car. The boy's head lolled against his chest and Derek got a whiff of his scent. On top was the overwhelming scent of blood, thick enough to leave a bad taste in Derek's mouth, and of course there were the werewolves who had done this to the human. But underneath that Derek smelled the boy. It was rich and fresh, a scent that reminded him of the forest on a fall morning. Brisk and clear and full of mysteries.
Derek carried him to his car and managed to get him in the passenger seat without too much jostling.
Then he got in the driver's seat but instead of starting the car, he had his first real look at the boy's face. One eye was swollen shut and he had a split lip along with what would be impressive bruises in the morning covering half his face.
It was always kind of fascinating to Derek how humans carried those marks for days, sometimes weeks. As a born werewolf it was normal to him that he healed within minutes. Heavy injuries took hours to heal, a day at most, and those were hours in pain. How could humans endure that for days?
He had Peter's voice in his ear, talking about how weak and breakable humans were and he was right. This human was hurt and broken and all it had taken was some werewolves and their fists. As far as Derek could tell they hadn't even used their claws or fangs. However, this weak little human would live through the pain, would bear it for days and weeks if necessary and he would come out on top.
Weak wasn't the word Derek would use.
Shutting off the voice of his uncle in his head, Derek brought the engine to life.
The first few minutes there was silence in the car. Derek didn't turn on the radio because he wanted to monitor the human's breathing and heartbeat. But then the boy came to, more or less.
"Where are we going?" He ask. At least Derek guessed that was what the mumbling meant.
"I'm taking you to the hospital." Derek said without taking his eyes off the road. "You're safe now."
"Hospital?" Alert the boy sat up straighter but almost doubled over in pain. Derek had to reach over to prevent him from hitting his head on the dashboard. "No hospital, I'm fine. Just take me home. Please."
It would have sounded more convincing if he could say more than two words between harsh breaths.
"Please." He said again, now slumped back into the seat. "Just bruises, nothing broken. Dad ... Dad doesn't need to know."
Derek didn't know much about humans and possible injuries. Could they tell how severely they were injured? He tried to remember his sister and the other humans of his pack but he had been a teenager himself before the fire and he had never really paid much attention. The only thing he could remember clearly was his mother telling him to be careful because Tara wouldn't just heal.
"I think you need a hospital." Derek said with a glance at the swollen face. "Just to make sure."
"No, please."
In the end Derek didn't bring him to the hospital. However, when he slowed down at the house the boy had pointed out he heard three heartbeat coming from the other side of the street.
"Dammit." Derek cursed and drove past the house.
"Hey." The boy protested, hand already at the door handle.
"They're waiting for you." Derek explained and the boy immateriality let go of the door. Instead he turned around to catch a glimpse of the wolves hidden in the bushes somewhere. It was kind of laughable if Derek was honest.
"What now?" The boy asked.
Derek had no idea. There was only one place he could think of where the human would be safe at least for the night.
"I know a place." Derek headed towards the hotel.
The boy was out of it for most of the ride but he rose when Derek opened the passenger side door.
"Where are we?" He asked, squinting at the building.
"My hotel." Derek said, aware of how creepy it sounded. "You'll be safe here."
To his surprise the boy didn't object and let Derek guide him through the lobby towards the elevator.
At this time of the night, the clerk at the front desk was dozing in front of the small TV and didn't notice the werewolf coming in with a bloody pulp of human meat. That was the downside of being a Hale in Beacon Hills, most people had at least heard of him and a lot recognized him by sight.
In his room Derek carefully helped the boy to sit on the couch but then he straightened up with no clue what to do next.
Derek didn't know how to treat wounds. The few times Tara had more than just a scratch their mother had taken care of it. Now he wished he had paid more attention.
Washing off the blood seemed like a good idea so he did that.
"Can you take this off?" Derek asked, tugging at the hoodie. The boy obediently raised his arms, or at least tried to, so that Derek could take off the hoodie and the shirt beneath.
"I need to see if your ribs are broken." Derek said before he ran his fingertips over the blooming bruises on the boy's side. His left side had taken the brunt of it but his whole upper body was plastered with dark splotches.
Derek didn't find anything out of place, not that he really knew what he was doing here. But there was one thing he could do. He flattened his hand over where he felt the worst of the pain in the deep.
Derek didn't move for minutes. His legs were protesting against the crouched position by now but he still didn't move. He kept his hand on the battered body, constantly draining the pain.
He only broke the contact when there was a knock at the door.
Chapter 3
Masterpost