Chapter Text
"Derek," Lea said looking at her brother from the passenger seat. "You haven't said anything since we left Sacramento. You know we need to talk about this."
She watched his knuckles turn white as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "There's nothing to talk about."
Lea scoffed," Yes there is, and you know it. Hell, you felt it, and I know you did because if I felt it, then you definitely did. There's no denying it." Lea sighted, shifting her gaze out the window, following the quickly passing trees with her eyes. With a tired voice she added, "I know you don't want it to be true and trust me, I don't either. But we need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that she's dead."
She, Derek thought. Laura. Their older sister, who had gone back to the town they grew up in after she had gotten a cutout of a newspaper article showing a dead deer, a deep spiral carved into its skin, in the mail. Upon realizing that the deer was found in the preserve, the property their childhood home had been built on, she couldn't help but take it as a sign. As a sign that maybe someone from their family had survived, that maybe they wanted to contact them. After all, why else would there be a deer with the sign of vendetta carved onto its side? It has to be a Hale, she told her siblings back in their apartment in New York, someone wanting revenge for their family's horrible deaths, finally coming back after all these years. She had to check it out, just to be sure. And with that, she had packed up a bag, rented a car and driven all the way to the small town of Beacon Hills, California. The town where, six years ago, they had lost everything. The town where their family had been unrightfully and horribly taken from them at a too young age, because of sheer hatred and injustice.
At first, they had gotten daily updates via text. Laura informing them about what she'd found upon arriving in Beacon Hills. That she'd tracked down and spoken to the journalist that had published the article and asked him how he found out about it. He had said that an unassuming jogger had seen it as she was taking her morning run. After that, Laura had tracked the jogger down who unfortunately couldn't tell her more than she had already told the police. Regardless, Laure informed Derek and Lea that she'd still check out the preserve, sniff around, see if she can catch a scent, tracks, anything. She wouldn't give up. That was 5 days ago, since then there's been nothing but radio silence. Calls and text messages left unanswered, voice mail filled up with worried messages left by both of the siblings. They started to get worried, restless and then, one night as they were both in the living room, they'd both felt it. A tug in their chests, as if an invisible string connected to the centre of their ribcage had been pulled taught and severed. Both their eyes had flashed instinctively as they gasped out in pain, overwhelmed by the sudden feeling of loss.
They both knew that feeling, they'd felt it before, the night as most of their family burned alive, trapped in their own house. Back then it was that much more severe, more painful as 12 connections had been cut off one by one before they could find out what was happening or how to stop it. By the time they got to their home, there was nothing left but the shell of a mansion once impressively beautiful, filled with life and built with love, burned to ashes. Laura, being the eldest and thus the next in chain of command, she'd felt it the worst, her senses amplified by the newly acquired power of an alpha only making it more painful to bear. And to make it even worse, they knew it meant their mom had died as well. It was never supposed to happen like this, Laura had cried later that night, holding her two siblings to her chest. They were all they had left.
No, it really never was supposed to happen that way and neither was this. Derek didn't want to believe it, refused to believe it. It had to be a mistake, some kind of supernatural malfunction or something because if Laura had died, then he should have become the alpha, right? And he didn't. He'd checked time and time again, shining his eyes in the bathroom mirror to confirm they were still the icy blue he'd hated so much. That must mean she's not dead, she can't be, otherwise his eyes wouldn't be blue but red. That's what Derek had told himself, had told Lea when she had looked at him with so much fear in her eyes he wanted to hug her and tell her it's okay. That Laura was okay, that she couldn't be dead because his eyes weren't red yet.
Unless, Derek's oh so self-loathing mind had supplied, unless she was killed by another werewolf which meant the alpha power would go to that werewolf and not to Laura's next of kin. But why would another werewolf do that? Who would want to kill his sister? For what reason? Could it have been a Hale? Had Laura been right? All these questions swirled around his head as Derek focused back on the road ahead of him. What would they find when they got to Beacon Hills after all these years?
Lea looked back at her brother, saw the way his whole body was so tense, so rigid. The look on his face was one she knew well. It's the one he wore when he was trying not to show any emotion on his face. Lips nothing but a thinly pressed line on his face, eyebrows scrunched up producing worry lines on his forehead, eyes dark. To an outsider it would merely look as if he was angry, scowling.
But Lea knew better. She knew it's the expression of someone who has experienced severe loss, someone who blamed himself for what happened to his family, for not being able to save them, same as he is blaming himself for this. For not keeping his big sister safe when it was what they had all sworn to each other that fateful night six years ago as they were huddled together under a blanket the Sheriff had graciously provided after having taken them to the station. Derek wore the expression of someone who felt he's failed his family, back then by letting himself be persuaded by an older woman and now by not making sure his sister was safe. Lea knew nothing she could say would keep him from holding himself responsible, so she did the only thing she could at that moment.
She put her left hand over his right one holding the gear shift. A physical yet silent reminder that she was there and wasn't going anywhere, that as long as they'd had each other they could be fine, they could be strong. Together. She knew he got the message as she felt him relax slightly, shoulders loosening a bit. Unclenching his hand, he curled his fingers around hers. Squeezing them in a non-verbal thank you. Lea took another try at making him see that at the very least they'd need a plan before they'd charge head first into something they have no idea how dangerous it could be.
"Just so I know, what exactly are you planning on doing when we get back to Beacon Hills?", she said calmly, not a trace of judgement in her voice. Derek sighed, " I don't know I just-", he took a deep breath, "I need to do something."
"I know", his sister said, giving him a sad smile that wasn't reaching her eyes. "Me too." She took a moment to think. "Then how about this. When we get there, first thing we're gonna do is get a motel room, grab something to eat, maybe shower and take a moment to assess the situation. We can't just go barging in, not knowing what to expect. We need to get some information first, snoop the place out, retrace Laura's steps before we do anything that could get us killed. That sound good?"
Derek thought about it for a moment. His sister's right, they couldn't just run in without a plan, they could get themselves into serious trouble if they did. That's one of the reason he admired her so much, her ability to stay so level headed even in the most desperate of times. Having anger management issues himself, it's a trait he'd always looked up at her for despite her being younger than him. Fighting his urge to find whoever did something to Laura as soon as possible and make them suffer for taking away one of the only things he had left, Derek, with a bit of a strain, smiled tiredly at his sister and nodded. "Sounds good." Lea smiled back and looked back out of the window, feeling a little less helpless. They could do this, she thought, they could manage as long as they had each other.