Chapter Text
Derek Hale is lost.
He’s running through the woods behind his house, running away from the alpha pack that’s following the drops of his blood like bread crumbs. He should know this place better than anyone but right then, his mind muddled by the pain in his side, he can barely see. All he smells is the scent of his own blood like liquid fear. The only thing he hears is the sound of his own heartbeat. He’s completely alone.
He looks back once and that turns out to be his undoing. Derek trips over a tree root and crashes down into soft muddy earth. He tries to get up, struggles onto his hands and knees but can’t get much further. He collapses and lays on his uninjured side, curling in on himself. Derek doesn’t howl, he doesn’t cry for help.
Leaves crunch on the path to where he lies but Derek doesn’t move. He shuts his eyes and shakes. Thin fingers move through his hair and a gentle voice shushes him. She speaks but he doesn’t understand; her words float away before he can grasp them.
She keeps talking, the words wrapping themselves around Derek and weighing him down. It feels like falling. He hears his name suddenly and he opens his eyes. The night is gone, the forest is gone. He feels like he’s finally stopped falling, like he’s landed. A clock ticks in time to his heart and he settles into the feeling of nothing. There’s no sharp edges, no pain, just soft nothingness. He clutches at the cloth underneath his fingers. There’s so much light in this place. He’s never been anywhere this bright.
“Derek...?”
He turns his head to the side, chasing a familiar voice, and finds his mom and Laura sitting in two identical green chairs next to his bed. His mom's hazel eyes turn watery and she grasps his hand. Derek feels it. She's so warm and alive.
"Oh my god, Derek, you're awake." She says.