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Allison pulled into the parking lot of the motel on Route 27 and parked in one of the spots. It had been just about two days since she’d went to visit Lydia and clear the air between them about her knowing about werewolves. Things had gone better than she’d expected, not that she thought things would go bad. Lydia had agreed to help her look into her family history and she was going to help Lydia figure out why she’d been wandering around the woods alone with no memory of getting there.
One thing that Allison hadn’t been able to get off her mind from their talk though was Derek Hale. It hadn’t been difficult to locate the wolf and now that she was there Allison wasn’t exactly sure what to do. If she was being honest she wanted to see why after everything that had transpired between Derek and her aunt he had saved her life.
And if that wasn’t enough of a reason, there were his eyes. They were blue. She had told Lydia that Scott and Stiles weren’t dangerous and obviously they weren’t, but what about Derek? Her father told her what blue eyes meant. Derek had taken an innocent life and Allison wanted to know if that was something she was going to have to worry about in the future because the last thing she wanted was Derek turning on the boy she loved.
Allison sighed and pushed her car door open, keys in hand and got out of the car, shutting it quietly behind her. When she glanced up she spotted Derek in the window of his hotel room staring at her. She swallowed hard and pushed forward walking towards his room back straight, gaze never wavering.
Derek pursed his lips. He’d heard the car pull up when he was laying in bed and had immediately gotten up to see who it was. At first he wondered if Stiles had come back, but when he saw the youngest Argent outside he couldn’t say he wasn’t confused. He held her gaze as he watched her walk towards his room before shifting away from the window and over towards the door.
Derek paused briefly before reaching out, gripping the knob, turning it and pulling it open in one movement. He leaned against the door and arched a brow. “I certainly didn’t expect to see you on my doorstep.” He stated as he studied Allison’s face.
Allison approached the door hesitantly not even sure how she was going to bring up what she wanted to talk about. She mimicked the wolf's expression before pushing past him into the motel room, "Trust me, this is the last place I thought I'd be." She said turning around to face him once she was inside. "Are you going to shut the door or are we going to have this discussion with an audience?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for the wolf to join her inside.
Derek turned and lifted a brow at the brunette in front of him standing near his bed. He waited a minute before closing the door and taking one step towards her before crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m not entirely sure what conversation you think we’re having, but I would think someone who comes from a family of hunters would know better than to barge in somewhere she isn’t wanted.” He dead panned.
Allison furrowed her eyebrows looking at the older boy in front of her. "Trust me I don't want to be here but I need answers." She stated. "I need to know what kind of guy my boyfriend and his best friend are taking advice from." She said in a demanding tone leaning toward Derek.
Derek pursed his lips. “After what your family has done what makes you think you have any right to come here unannounced and demand answers from me?” He asked his tone calm. “I don’t owe you anything.” He added.
Allison stood up, stepping a bit closer to Derek and tilted her head up slightly so she was as face-to-face with the wolf as she could be. "Because I'm the only one who's protecting you from getting your head chopped off by my father and grandfather." She stated staring right into Derek's eyes. "So the least you can do is give me some answers." She said standing her ground.
A hint of amusement filled his gaze as he took a step closer to Allison, his taller frame towering over her. “I’ve been keeping myself alive and safe from your family since I was 15-years old. I don’t need a child protecting me,” he stated before stepping back, “And let’s be honest here, you’re not trying to protect me Allison. You’re trying to protect Scott and Stiles.” He shifted back until he could rest against the small table in the room. “So, instead of coming in here spouting lies and trying to manipulate answers from me, how about you try a different approach.” He suggested. “What exactly is it that you want answers to? Why are you here?”
Tensing up, Allison clenched her fists at Derek's words. "I'm protecting you by not telling every hunter that comes into my house where you are." She stated and she wasn't going to let him make her feel like she was useless. "You’re hiding place isn't a very good one. I found you pretty easily." She said with a smirk. "But if you want me to just cut to the chase I can. Why did you save me the night your house exploded? And who exactly did you kill to get those blue eyes?" She asked crossing her arms and furrowing her brow.
Derek smirked at the way Allison tensed up before dropping his hands and resting them beside his body gripping the table gently. "You found me easily because I'm not hiding." He stated. "I'm where I need to be so Stiles can have easy access to finding me." He explained not that he owed her an explanation.
"As for why I saved you...two reasons. Scott and because you saved me first. I don't like to be indebted to anyone." He stated simply before his face grew cold and his body tensed. "And my eyes are none of your business." He snapped.
Allison walked towards the werewolf. "It is my business since I know what it means." She said inching closer to Derek. "And I'll let Stiles and Scott in on it unless you give me a reason not to." Allison threatened, closing in on Derek's personal space. "So I'll ask again, who did you kill to turn your eyes blue?" Allison asked. She needed to know, she needed to find out so she knew her friends were safe.
Derek flashed his eyes at her a low, controlled, growl emitting from his throat. “If I were you I’d take a step back.” He said the anger in his voice clear. “You’ve been a hunter for all of a week and a half; I’ve been running and fighting your kind since I was a child. You want answers? Well this isn’t how you get them. Coming here trying to intimidate me, you’re a child.” He repeated, “All of you Argents are the same.” He said with a hint of disgust in his tone.
“Instead of being civil and coming here talking to me like a person, you throw around threats and attitude like you’re some big shot, well here’s some news. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t have made it to the door.” He told her honestly. “It’s actually kind of funny you asking why my eyes are this color considering it all started with your family coming to Beacon Hills.”
Allison stood her ground, attempting not to flinch at Derek’s threat. "Don't think just because you flash your eyes and growl like an angry dog that you can intimidate me." Allison huffed and backed up shifting towards the bed and sitting down, eyes never once leaving his.
"I'm sorry about the hostility I walked in with but do you blame me? We don't have a history of getting along, even though I've never done anything to you or your family." Allison stated. "You can't lump me in with all of them, I'm nothing like them. Just like I'm hoping you're nothing like your uncle." She told the wolf.
Allison hesitated for a minute before speaking again before Derek could. "Seems like a lot of terrible things happen when our families are around each other,” she offered as an olive branch figuring it was the only way she’d get anywhere, “So what terrible thing happened when my family came here?" Allison asked leaning forward.
Derek was silent for a minute. “Can you honestly blame me for thinking you’re just like the rest of your family after everything you’ve seen?” He asked with a shake of his head. “I know nothing about you other than what Scott tells me and you forget I was young and in love with an Argent once too and she tricked me…betrayed me and killed my entire family.” He said his voice low. “So you’ll forgive me if I don’t have any happy shiny feelings for the Argents.” He stated matter-of-factly.
“As for my uncle…he went about things the wrong way and he killed innocent people who should have never been hurt, but he had every right to go after your aunt. She killed 12 people that night. Some of them weren’t even werewolves.” He told her before glancing away from her. “Terrible things do happen when our families…collide would be the best word for it I suppose.” He replied not answering her question just yet.
Allison arched an eyebrow at him, "Can you blame me for coming in here with the attitude I did then? I don't know you more then what Scott and Stiles have said. And your uncle hasn't exactly been a great example of who the Hale wolves are," Allison pointed out leaning back. "I won't say I disagree, what my aunt did was wrong. But what Peter did was wrong too.” Allison replied holding Derek’s gaze.
"Can we just agree that we’re not like the bad people in our family? And that we’re trying to break the pattern?" Allison asked. "So, what happened when my family came to town?" Allison asked again trying to get back on subject.
Derek swallowed hard. He’d never told anyone about Paige before. The only people who knew were Peter and his Mother. He shifted and walked back over to the table leaning against it again. “There were several packs in town visiting, seeking guidance from my mother.” He told her quietly, “And one of the newest beta’s was attacked by hunters. He shifted and accidently killed the hunter who attacked him.” He pursed his lips, “Gerard strung him up, cut him in half and then proceeded to have his hunters go after all the packs in town.” He told her, pausing briefly to let her digest the information.
Allison focused on the information Derek gave her about her family. "I guess more people than my aunt don’t play by our code…" Allison replied quietly. "At least this confirms the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach about dear old grandpa was spot on, I can't believe my family." Allison admitted to the wolf as she tilted her head to the side. "But what does that have to do with your eyes? You clearly weren't the one who killed a hunter….since you’re still alive." Allison stated knowing that wasn't the end; something else had to have happened.
Derek hesitated looking down and away from Allison, his hands clenching on the table. “At the time I was fifteen. I was a sophomore at Beacon Hills high, star basketball player, well liked…I guess I see a bit of myself in Scott,” he stated honestly, “which is why I’ve been so vocal about him breaking up with you in the past.” He admitted before clearing his throat. “Anyway…I met a girl…someone,” Derek paused his chest tightening, “someone who meant a lot to me. Someone I loved.” He told her quietly as he pushed himself away from the table again and walked over to the window looking out of it.
Allison wondered if something bad happened, if that's why Derek was trying to protect Scott from her or her from Scott. Allison waited a minute and when he didn’t started talking again she got up and walked over towards Derek leaning against the wall near the window. "So what happened to her?" Allison asked staring at him while he gazed out the window.
Derek glanced over his shoulder and then shifted away from the youngest Argent. He walked back over to the table putting some distance between them. “She hated me,” he said with the ghost of a smile, “At first or so she said. I don’t think she ever really did.” He said quietly. “What happened,” he repeated, “The same thing that always happens with new love. We bickered…we made up. She opened my world to so many different things. She was smart and beautiful. Brave…loyal,” Derek paused once again turning away from Allison to get his bearings. He was a master at control and yet a few sentences about Paige and he could feel himself crumbling inside.
“We spent all of our time together, ran off to be together. She played the cello. I could spend hours listening to her play…” His voice trailed off. “Time passed and the tension between the packs and hunters were getting worse and Peter,” Derek hesitated and bowed his head a bit, “I let Peter get inside my head with his rantings about how Paige was going to get caught in the crossfire…how she was going to die and wouldn’t it be better if she were like us…strong able to defend herself.” He swallowed hard. “I never should have let him bully me into it. I was weak. I was in love and the only thing I wanted to do was protect the girl I loved more than anything.” He explained.
“So Peter arranged to have one of the alphas, the one who was missing a pack member because of your grandfather, give her the bite. They sent her note from me luring her to the school. When the alpha went after her…I heard her scream, her heart was beating so fast,” Derek paused swallowing the lump in his throat. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let him hurt her so I ran out there.” Derek closed his eyes the memory taking hold of him. “I attacked an alpha and he threw me around like a goddamn puppet,” he told her with a bitter laugh. “But I kept getting up, kept attacking him…only to find out in the end that it was too late. He’d already bitten her.” He said his voice hard as he finally looked up at Allison and met her gaze. “Do you know what happens when someone rejects the bite?”
Allison could tell the Derek was trying hard to keep it together as he went on; she had really hit a nerve asking him to explain. Allison tracked his movement and listened to the wolf tell his story. She tried not to get emotional listening to the story that seemed to mimic Scott and hers so well, but it was hard. Allison couldn't believe what he was telling her. "No, I don't. What happens?" Allison asked meeting Derek's gaze.
Derek held the teenagers gaze, “When someone gets bitten one of two things happen. If they accept the bite they become like Stiles and Scott or,” he paused, “their body rejects the bite and it kills them.” He told her quietly. “It was clear that her body was rejecting the bite before I was even able to get her to my family home. She was in pain, her body purging black blood…that’s what color it turns when a human system is trying to fight the change.” Derek broke eye contact with Allison and looked away.
“So we wound up in a place we used to hide out from hunters…my girlfriend’s body in my arms as she bled out, crying in pain…and I couldn’t do anything.” He stated, “I took as much pain from her as I could, but it wasn’t enough. She admitted than that she knew what I was that she knew I was different and loved me anyway.” His throat tightened as pain filled his chest. “She was suffering…and she begged me, she begged me to stop the pain. So I did.” He whispered looking back up at Allison, “I sat there as she died in my arms and snapped her neck because I loved her and because I couldn’t stand to see her suffer anymore. And that’s on me. What happened to her…the life that was taken, the potential…she could have given this world so much and I ruined that.” Derek said.
“It’s not something I take lightly and it’s something I will never forgive myself for. But I am not a killer. I’m not—” his voice broke and he looked away again, “I’m not someone who takes a life easily and I never will be. She was the first and last innocent life I will ever take.”
Allison was trying her hardest not to let the tears that were welling in her eyes drop. She couldn't believe that he went through all of that, that he had the strength to end her suffering. Allison was glad that she knew the blue eyes the wolf had weren't from a vicious attack on an innocent life, but at the same time she felt terrible that she made him relive losing the love of his life.
Allison pushed away from the wall and walked closer to Derek trying to catch his gaze. "I know it's not my place, especially after everything my family put you through but…can I ask what her name was?" Allison inquired hesitantly, hoping the wolf would tell her. She could tell he had already opened himself up to her unlike he had to others before and she appreciated his honesty. A part of her felt bad for him…wanted to hug him, talk to him more but Allison knew it would be well received. So she was hoping he would open up with this one last thing instead.
Derek glanced up and caught the young hunter’s gaze, the emotion on her face catching him off guard. He hesitated, “Paige,” he said quietly, “Her name was Paige.” He replied his body tense. He was uncomfortable showing even this small amount of emotion in front of someone he didn’t really trust, but maybe now she’d see that despite the fact that his methods weren’t always the best, he really was just trying to help.
"Paige," Allison repeated back, imagining what the young girl looked like and also what a young Derek hale looked like. "Is this why you wanted Scott away from me? Even before you knew who I was? So history wouldn’t repeat itself?" Allison asked genuinely curious. Derek didn't seem like the big bad wolf everyone made him out tobe, he just wanted to protect what family he had left. Even if he wouldn't admit it, he seemed to consider Stiles and Scott family now.
Derek arched a brow letting is arms rest over his chest. “Partly,” he admitted. “Mostly it was because of Kate.” He paused, “I met her about six months after Paige. I was in a bad place, I had lost my way and when my mother told me I couldn’t be with her, I ignored her warnings and did it anyway.” He said with a shake of his head. “I was convinced they were wrong about her. I was weak, I let her manipulate me. I was young and stupid and she used me to get to my family. I might as well have lit the house on fire myself.” He added his chest tight.
“Your family left not long after that. And so did I. Laura stayed. I only came home when word of her death reached me. I came back to find out who did it. And of course it was Peter,” he said with a sigh. “I told Scott to stay away from you because your family has a tendency to destroy whatever’s in their way. Scott doesn’t need to go through the pain I’ve gone through. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Your father thinks I’m some kind of monster. Do you know how many opportunities I’ve had to kill you aunt since she murdered my family?” He asked eyebrows arched.
“Five.” He told her without giving her a chance to speak. “Five times I could have killed her and walked away. Five times I could have avenged the death of my family some of which were one hundred percent human. But I never did it. Because killing her wouldn’t bring them back and because a part of me couldn’t bring myself to kill a girl I once thought I loved.” Derek pushed away from the table. “I said this to you the night you saved me from your aunt and I’ll say it again maybe it’s time you take a good long look at who the real monsters are.”
Derek pushed away from the table making sure to hold Allison’s gaze. “Fangs, fur and a werewolf gene do not a monster make.” He told her gruffly before reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s late,” he stated suddenly, “You should go.” He told her his voice quiet, “The last thing I need is your father finding you here.” He stated.
Allison opened her mouth to protest, but she figured she might as well not push her luck. Derek had opened up to her enough for the night and dare she say they might be semi-okay with each other. Something she didn’t want to ruin by getting too greedy with information. She nodded, “Trust me; I wouldn’t want that either,” she stated, “The last thing I need is another lesson on how we don’t trust werewolves.” She rolled her eyes heavenward briefly. Allison had gotten enough grief from her father about Scott lately.
A spark of amusement colored Derek’s gaze briefly before he nodded and then tilted his head towards the door as he walked towards it and opened it, once again leaning against it like he had when she’d first shown up. “Goodnight Allison.”
The dark haired teenager watched him for a minute before pulling her keys from her pocket and heading towards the open door, pausing just before walking into the chilly night air. Allison glanced over at Derek. She was quiet for a minute before speaking. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “for the part my family played in what happened. I’m not my family, I’m not a killer and neither is my father.” She stated. “You don’t have anything to fear from us…I’ll make sure of it.” She finished her voice low.
Derek watched as she stepped out of the door and his hand came up automatically gripping her arm gently to stop her progress. When she glanced over her shoulder at him with an arched brow and a weary look he dropped his hand. He hesitated trying to find the words to say what he wanted to say. “I know you’re not,” he replied finally, “And for what it’s worth I don’t consider you my enemy. Scott, Stiles, Lydia, you…you’re all a part of this now whether I like it or not and I’m…here if needed.” He told her simply. Because Scott and Stiles…they were like him now. He would protect them and the girls they loved so neither boy would have to go through what he had.
Allison’s chest tightened at his words and she swallowed heavily. She took him in for a moment, large frame, five-o-clock shadow on his face, tortured eyes. It was clear he could be menacing, capable of real violence and yet she was suddenly looking at Derek Hale in a completely new light. He wasn’t a killer…he was a protector. Fierce, loyal and full of unseen morals and that had been all she needed to know. “I’m really glad I came here tonight.” She said finally sending him a hesitant smile. “Have a good night Derek.”
The wolf’s brows furrowed at her small smile. He watched the youngest Argent turn and head back to her car. He heard the rumble of the engine as she started up the car and back out of the spot his eyes following her progress until he could barely hear the sound of the car driving down the roads of Beacon Hills. He stood there for another moment before letting out a breath and stepping back to close the door. Derek walked back over to his head and dropped down on it his gaze drifting to the ceiling, his chest feeling just a bit lighter than it had earlier in the evening. That was the first time an Argent had ever apologized to him…for anything. Maybe Allison Argent wasn’t so terrible after all and maybe, just maybe Scott’s story would end better than his had.