Chapter Text
Derek hated parties with a passion. He hated the fake suits, the fake smiles, and worse, the fake simpering he had to endure, every time he attended such events. People fell over themselves to get near to him, to win an audience with the famous Derek Hale, head of one of the most powerful families in the country.
Men and women alike, would flutter their lashes, lick their lips and all but throw themselves at the man. Derek detested it all. The only reason he ever attended such events was that it was good for business. That however, never stopped the long line of suitors from following him like little lost puppies, trying to prove that the were a perfect candidate, to fill the position as the newest Mr or Mrs Hale.
The room was already full to the brim with people milling around. All making small talk, smiling inanely at one another and full of their own self- importance. Although the event was under the guise of a charity fundraiser, many used it as a networking opportunity and a way of broadcasting their own wealth. Anyone who was anyone was within these walls, eager to strut around like peacocks in order to further advance their own professional or personal agenda. Charity event indeed, Derek snorted to himself. Of course, as his uncle liked to remind him, charity did indeed start at home.
Derek took a long sip of the perfectly chilled champagne and surveyed the room with a critical eye. People were already whispering his name, talking in hushed tones, speculating about his attendance and who he might attend with. Every one of them completely unaware that he could hear every word uttered.
He stealthily stalked through the shadows, trying to keep himself hidden for as long as possible. The man could not help but consider morosely, that it seemed as if he spent most of his life hiding in one way or another. He wondered bitterly, how many of those simpering fools would still be interested in him, in any capacity, if they truly knew the truth about him or his family. Would they still fawn all over him if they suddenly found out who or what he really was? He doubted very much, that he would still have so many willing applicants, freely offering themselves to fill the position of being his mate, if they really knew his hidden secret.
The wolf was more than happy with that thought. Derek had absolutely no desire to fall down that particular rabbit hole. He hadn’t spent the last ten years rebuilding the family business for him to lose his focus now. All of his hard work was finally paying off. All those countless hours of blood, sweat and tears, had seen Hale Incorporation not only flourish at home, but was now also taking off all over the world. The alpha had no time to devote to frivolous relationships, or to enter into a commitment he knew would more than likely be one sided. No, Derek would politely decline any advances that came his way, grin and bare it and get the hell out of there as quickly as he could.
“If you keep your expression like that for the duration of the night, dear nephew, you will turn the drinks sour.” A smooth and silky voice all but purred into his ear.
“Hmm, well, we can’t all pull out the charm as effortlessly as you, Peter,” the alpha replied. “Some of us don’t all love the limelight, as you do. God, I hate these things.” He downed the rest of his drink aggressively.
“And yet, Alpha, we must endure.” Peter smirked.
Jesus, he really was a cocky asshole, but unfortunately Peter was also right. He did have no choice but to endure it. As one of the wealthiest families within the state, if not the country, it was expected that they attend such charity events. Truth be told, he had no issue with the charity itself, funding under privileged children within education. It was an excellent cause and the alpha would most definitely be donating a considerable amount of money. He just wished he could have written a cheque and sent it in the post. However, he had a public image to uphold and Peter loved to remind him, image was everything. As much as Derek loved his business, he hated having to play this game. It was all just so tedious.
Peter ran a soothing hand down Derek’s neck, scent marking him as he did so, obviously smelling Derek’s growing unease and frustration. His expression softened and his smile became somewhat more genuine. Derek eased into his uncle’s touch, allowing the other wolf to comfort him.
“You know,” Peter hummed. “Talia hated public events too.”
The alpha snapped his eyes up to his uncle in surprise. Peter very rarely mentioned the family they had lost in the fire. The scars on the beta’s body may have healed, but other scars ran much deeper, leaving behind damage that he would never fully recover from.
“She used to tell me that her trick to surviving such events, was to down as much wolfbane infused gin as she could before leaving the house.” The smirk reappeared over the beta’s face. “Maybe I should have told you that earlier.”
Derek couldn’t help snort out a laugh at the man next to him. The one who had stood by him, not only helping him rebuild their business, but also helping to raise his little sister. Derek owed his uncle more than he would ever be able to repay. Peter had been the one to save them in the fire, at an extremely high cost to himself. The damage Peter had sustained had put him in a coma for several months and in hospital for well over a year. His recovery had been long and painful and Derek had watched in awe, as the beta had pieced himself back together, all the while still offering support to his niece and nephew. As much as Peter could be a sassy, egotistical, pain in the ass, he was family and Derek trusted him implicitly.
“I will keep that in mind for next time.” Derek smiled.
“Good idea.” Peter clapped him hard on the back. “Now, go forth and conquer and for god's sake, do it quickly. I might be the better actor, but believe me, I only have so much patience too.”
With that, Derek was pushed forward with some force and stumbled further into the room. Before he even had time to turn and glare back at his uncle, a small blonde woman was in front of him, running her hand down the wolf’s arm. The alpha barely refrained from growling at her intrusive gesture, but managed to catch himself just in time. Derek took a step back and smiled tightly down at her.
“Oh Mr Hale, so nice to see you,” the woman grinned up at him, eyes peeking out through her heavily mascara painted lashes. “I was so hoping that I would catch you tonight.”
The thick scent of arousal hit Derek like a steam train. He flinched away slightly at the smell and bit back his initial response to her chosen words. Instead he settled on something more business-like. He was used to such advances and had a huge amount of practice in shutting them down quickly.
“Of course,” he smoothly replied. “I’m here for the children after all, so if I can help with that in anyway, please let me know.”
The woman nodded profusely, while Derek stared at her.
“Yes, yes of course, the children.” She flittered her eyes wildly around the room as if looking for inspiration. Derek couldn’t help but wonder if the woman even knew which charity the event was for. He continued to watch as she floundered. “That’s why we are all here.” She giggled and Derek nodded at her politely.
The alpha studied her a moment, contemplating his escape, when a loud crash followed by some spectacular and colourful expletives, drifted towards them from the kitchen. As the blonde turned towards the commotion, Derek used the distraction to slip silently away, thanking his lucky stars. The scent of the woman had been almost suffocating. It had been sweet, almost sickly so and it had been so thick that he could almost taste it. Derek needed a drink and he needed it fast. The alcohol may not do anything to help take the edge of the evening, but at least he could use it to wash out the god awful taste, currently residing in his mouth.
The wolf scanned the room, quickly spotting a redheaded waitress on the other side. He headed purposefully towards her, passing the kitchen as he did so. The door flew open and someone careered out of it, crashing straight into the alpha. Derek had not been quick enough to avoid the initial crash, but he did have the reflexes to catch the tray of drinks that almost fell to the ground. His senses working on instinct alone.
“Fuck dude,” a voice called out to him. “That was freaking awesome. Jesus, if that one had hit the floor, I would have definitely been fired.”
Derek looked up at the voice. The first thing he noticed were eyes. Huge gorgeous, whiskey, coloured eyes, looking at him as though he had just hung the moon. The second thing he noticed was his scent. Where the woman’s scent had been sickly sweet, the boys was fresh, like a spring morning, warm and full of possibilities.
“So, yeah, thanks for that, man. I’ll just take the tray and…”
Derek swallowed hard. The boy’s voice was deep and rich and flowed over the alpha like smooth bourbon.
“Hey dude, dude, are you listening?"
Shit, Derek had just been staring. Why had he been staring? He never stared. Glared, yes absolutely, but never staring like a lovesick teenager. Why had this boy had such an effect on him? This wasn’t normal behaviour. The wolf slowly held out the tray and the boy took hold of it, brushing against Derek’s fingers slightly. Electricity sparked at the point of contact and shot up the full length of his arm. Derek gasped as a vibrating feeling began to spread throughout the whole of his body. It was like an itch that had started at the point of contact and was now spreading quickly, making him hot and flustered.
The alpha panicked. Derek had always prided himself on having excellent control. Ever since he had first shifted, he had learned how to control the wolf within. Even when the alpha spark had unexpectedly passed to him, after his mother and older sister had perished in the fire, control had never been a real issue. However, currently, he was in fact, a breath away from losing it. Right there in front of a hall full of people.
The alpha shut his eyes tightly and took some slow steadying breaths. He absolutely could not lose it here. He had to reach down and pull hard on his anchor. His family, the feeling of home. That was his safe place. His anchor would bring him back, it would centre him. All he had to do was focus, concentrate. Only, shit, this time for some reason it wasn’t working. No matter how hard he tried to focus on his anchor, it just wasn’t enough.
The alpha finally opened his eyes again, to find himself gazing into golden ones. They stared back closely at him, full of warmth and concern.
“Hey big guy, are you okay? You need me to do anything?” The voice was soft and soothing and the alpha wanted to whimper.
Derek did the only thing he could think of. He turned on his heel and fled. His heart hammering in his chest as anxiety began to build rapidly. He needed to get out and get home fast. He needed to clear his head and get himself under control.
Fuck, fuck, fuck! Of all the things to happen, of all the places it could happen, fuck.
“Derek..” Peter appeared from nowhere to be at his side. Concern etched all over his face. “Alpha, what happened?”
Derek stared at him unable to get any words out, apparently however, he was communicating plenty.
“Shit Derek, I could hear you growling from across the room and your chemo-signals are all over the place.”
“Leave!” Derek finally, ground out. “Leave now.”
Peter took the hint. He took hold of Derek’s arm and led him quickly through the hall and into the cool night air. It helped, the fresh air cleared his senses and he was able to think again. The wolf leaned against the car and took long, deep cleansing breaths. Peter opened his mouth to speak but the alpha cut home off.
“Not here. Take us home.”
Peter nodded once, then got quickly into the car. Derek followed and the two sat in silence, although, the alpha caught his beta shooting him concerned glances, out of the corner of his eye.
Derek was glad of the silence. He tried to make sense of what had just happened. A sinking feeling began to grow in the pit of his stomach, which warred with a number of other emotions that were also whirling around inside of him. Part of Derek wanted to run as far and as fast as he possibly could, while another part wanted to turn the car around and head straight back to the charity event. To the boy with the whiskey eyes and glorious scent. Shit.
Derek’s emotions must have spiked again. Peter abruptly turned to face him, a low whine bubbled out of his uncle, who was obviously distressed at what was happening to his alpha. Derek wanted to comfort his uncle. He wanted to reassure him that everything would be fine. However, Derek himself, was barely hanging on by a thread.
As the car finally pulled up to their house, Derek didn’t even wait for it to come fully to a stop. He leapt out of the car and ran as fast as he could, up the steps, through the hall and straight into his office. He pulled the drawer of his desk open and frantically began to pull out files. The wolf scattered them over the table, searching for the one he was looking for. He barely even registered the arrival of his sister, he was so fully engrossed at the task at hand.
“Shit Derek, what the hell is going on? You smell…..”
“Yes indeed, that is what I would like to know too, dear nephew.”
Peter stood at the door watching Derek as he searched and discarded file after file. Cora hesitated a moment, then came closer picking up one of the files, taking a closer look.
“Fuck Der, are these the clearance files? Was there a breach.”
Derek paused in order to glance up at his sister, who now wore a look of sheer panic on her face. He could fully understand why. The fire had changed all of their lives forever. Had it not been for their uncle, they too would have perished. Derek’s naivety had once cost them all everything. The alpha now took his family’s safety seriously. Particularly since the threat to them was still out there somewhere.
After Hale incorporation exploded, Derek was forced out of living as a recluse. He and Peter needed to attend public events, gatherings and parties. Their image was important to their business and they became hot commodities. It became protocol that the Hales would only attend an event if they were given files on all guests and staff working there. Initially there had been complaints about such a condition. However,
The Hales however, had become extremely important in recent years and people would do almost anything to have them appear at their events. Files became the norm. Peter would usually vet them himself and take care of any issues that may arise. This allowed Derek to focus on other things. The system had worked extremely well. They had never experienced a breach in security, so the wolf therefore, understood why his sister might be concerned.
“No Cora, not a breach. I promise.” He soothed noticing that his sister relaxed some at his words. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
The alpha looked back to the folders and continued to flip through file after file, until finally, he found the right one.
He studied the photo carefully. The same stunning eyes. Slightly turned up nose. Perfect, pale, mole kissed skin and the most wicked smirk he had ever seen. His eyes traced over the file further. Father – Sheriff. Mother – Deceased. Address - Beacon Hills. Age… Fuck.
“He’s sixteen.”
“Who is?” Cora asked confused, as Derek handed her the file.
“He’s sixteen. Sixteen. Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Derek paced his office, scrubbing his hands over his face.
“What? I still don’t understand. Why does it matter?”
Cora passed the file to Peter who glanced over it and then back at his alpha. He hummed in thought for a moment and then raised his brows, having obviously worked out the problem.
“Ah, you met him at the party.” Peter stated. “You met him at the party and now you have realised that the boy is only sixteen.” Derek nodded. Peter hummed again.
“What? Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on? Some of us weren’t at the party.” Cora looked crossly, between her brother and her uncle.
“It would appear Cora, that your big brother has found his true mate.”
Cora snorted at him. “No, that’s just a myth. Mom told me that when I was little, like a fairy story. True mates don’t exist. It’s just a nice idea that there's someone out there, who was made to be perfect for you.” She looked back at Peter smugly.
“Your werewolf lore is woefully lacking, niece. I can assure you, that they are in fact real. Extremely rare, but real all the same and now it seems that Derek has gone and found his.”
Peter passed the file back to Derek who took it reluctantly. He stared back down at it, as if by doing so he would be able to change the facts somehow.
“Okay, well I don’t see the problem then.” Cora stated. “True mates are made for each other so….”
“He.Is.Sixteen.” Derek spat at her.
“Underage Cora.” Peter added getting to the crux of the issue. “He is underage and will be for some time yet.”
Cora glanced back at her brother, finally understanding his dilemma.
“So Alpha, what are you planning to do about it?”
“Do?” Derek asked incredulously, as if there ought to be no question at all. “I’m not going to do anything. He is sixteen years old, for god’s sake. I will not be like…. I will not bring him into a world he knows nothing about and force him to commit to something he does not understand. He is still a child in the eyes of the law and I will not do anything that will put him in danger. I can’t…I can’t….”
The alpha looked at the photo of the boy: Miescyslaw, Stiles Stilinski. He traced his thumb over it before slamming it facedown on his desk.
“And I forbid either of you to make any contact with him. Am I understood?” the wolf used his alpha voice. This was a command there would be no room for misinterpretation.
Both betas nodded, but Peter pushed further. “Okay Alpha, I will abide by your wishes. However, even you must realise how difficult this will be for you. Even if you plan on making contact when he turns eighteen, that is two years. Two years of knowing your true mate is out there and not being able to do anything about it. Two years of you denying your true nature and make no mistake about it, from what I have witnessed tonight, your wolf is already fully invested. This is going to be painful to you, incredibly so. I hope you know what you are doing.”
“I do.” Derek would not be moved on the issue. “Those are my orders.” The alpha straightened and his uncle and sister bared their throats in submission, before leaving the room.
Derek picked up the file once more, committing everything to memory. This was for the best. This would keep Stiles safe. That was all that mattered. It had to be.
Two years, he could do this.
He could.
Couldn’t he?