Poison and Wine

By the time school had ended, Hailey hadn’t heard back from Derek. She was a nervous wreck the whole afternoon. Even Mr. Parker telling her that since she couldn’t do a project by herself one-handed she could join any group she wanted. Naturally she chose to work with Stiles and Danny. Apparently, Jackson’s “Dad” had called the school saying Jackson would be out sick the rest of the week.

Danny trailed behind Hailey and Stiles as they walked to the parking lot. The plan was to go to Stiles’ house and work on the project, Hailey and Stiles in the Jeep, Danny following behind in his car. As Danny walked ahead to push open the doors for them since Stiles was struggling with his bag and Hailey’s, Hailey looked out to see Derek leaning against the hood of Stiles’ Jeep.

Stiles looked over at Hailey, his mouth open at a loss of an explanation. He merely shrugged his shoulders and Hailey rolled her eyes, leading the way to the Jeep. Derek looked up when he heard them coming and furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Danny coming up behind Stiles. He stood up straight once Hailey was close and she pursed her lips.

“I’ve been sitting in there worried sick for almost five hours,” she said, annoyance clear in her voice. Derek sighed and looked down at his feet.

“I know. I’m sorry,” he said, looking up at Hailey whose nostrils flared.

“You should be.”

“Hailey, please, just let me explain,” he said. “I didn’t text you because I need to tell you this in person.”

“What is it?” she asked, her eyes widening in fear. Derek looked over to see Stiles and Danny just standing there watching the two of them.

“Can I drive you home so I can tell you privately?”

“Fine. But I’m not going home. I’m going to Stiles’ house so the three of us can work on our project,” she said.

“I’ll just bring your stuff in my Jeep,” Stiles said, tossing her bag into the back.

“Thanks,” she said with a smile, turning to head over to Derek’s car. Derek watched as Stiles and Danny got into their cars and started them up before following Hailey over to the Camaro and opening her door for her.

“If Danny’s going to be there so am I,” he said, closing the door and going over to the driver’s side.

“Why?” she asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

“If he gets a text or anything from Jackson, I’ll most likely be able to pick up on it. I’ve been around Danny before and can read him pretty easily. Any slight movement could give it away.”

“Speaking of Jackson,” she said, turning to him as he started to drive. “What the fuck happened at the hospital?”

“I stayed until Jackson and Lydia left, about three hours ago. Your Mom is fine.”

“Well I kind of pieced that much together.”

“I followed them to Lydia’s house. And I tried to be careful but Jackson knew. I was parked far enough away that I could still see and hear them and he spoke to me saying all he was doing was getting your Mom’s scent,” Derek said, turning to look at the confused expression on Hailey’s face.

“Okay…” she said slowly.

“The last thing he said to me was: Three Miner’s down, one to go.”

“So he wants to catch my Dad’s scent next?” she asked, her eyes widening. Derek nodded his head and turned back to the road.

“Peter is keeping tabs on Lydia’s house right now. As of an hour ago the two of them were still there. Isaac is outside of your Dad’s office just as a precaution.”

“Jesus Christ… Derek, Jackson’s Dad supposedly called the school saying that Jackson would be home sick for the rest of the week,” she said, putting her head in her hand and looking out the window.

“Hailey I’m going to stress it again. It is crucial that your family stays home tomorrow night.”

“What about during the day? Is anything weird going to be happening then?”

“We’re all going to be a little more tense than usual but Peter and I have a better grip on it than the other two. Like I said, Isaac’s improving a lot but Scott is touch-and-go. Stiles and Allison will be able to keep him in check.”

“Basically don’t do or say anything to set any of you off,” she said and Derek nodded.

“Stiles needs to bring you home right after school,” he said and Hailey shook her head in disagreement. “Why not?”

“Aaron’s soccer practice. I’m not just going to sit at home with my Mom while he’s still there. I’m not too worried about Dad being at work but there’s no way I…”

“Okay,” he said, putting his hand on her knee. “I’d go with you but I need to take Scott…”

“I’ll be fine with Stiles.”

“I’ll have Peter and Isaac watching out for your Dad until he gets home. Alright?”

“Thank God. I was hoping you’d say that,” she said, letting out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

“If you hear anything, and I mean anything, that sounds suspicious tomorrow night you call me. I will leave Scott if I have to. If anything happens to you…”

“Hey,” she said, twisting her body towards him. She lifted his hand off of her knee and brought it up to her cheek. She kissed the back of his hand and squeezed it tight, interlocking their fingers. “I promise.”

“Okay,” he said softly as he drove. They were silent the rest of the way to Stiles’ house.

Derek pulled up and parked next to the Jeep. He eyed Danny cautiously as the four of them walked to the house, Hailey’s backpack slung over Derek’s shoulder. Danny looked away nervously and Derek wrapped his arm tight around Hailey’s waist. Hailey rolled her eyes as Stiles lead them up to his room. He took a seat at his desk and Hailey went over to sit on his bed. Danny was about to sit next to her when Derek cleared his throat very loudly and crossed his arms, looking towards the extra chair in Stiles’ room. Danny automatically went to sit in it as Derek took the spot next to Hailey.

“You need to calm down,” she whispered to him as Danny preoccupied himself with pulling out his laptop and looking up stuff to help them with their project.

“I don’t want him near you,” Derek whispered back seriously.

“I understand that but you can be a little nicer.”

“His best friend is out to attack your family and you want me to be nice to him?” he asked incredulously, keeping his voice low.

“Does he even know? I mean about what you and Jackson are?”

“Not that I know of,” he whispered, shaking his head.

“Then stop it,” she said, raising her eyebrows. Derek huffed and pressed his lips together.

He stayed silent while Hailey, Stiles, and Danny worked on their project. They made a good amount of progress by the time it came for when Danny had to get going. After he left Derek and Hailey hung around to fill Stiles in on what happened at the hospital.

“Shit, Hails,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know why he’s doing all of this to you.”

“It’s because she’s my mate. The mate of an Alpha is a precious thing to come by for anyone who wants something from an Alpha,” Derek said through his teeth.

“Why?” Hailey asked, looking up at him.

“Because Alpha’s will do anything to keep their mates safe,” he said simply. “We should have waited until we knew how to stop him.”

“I’m not sure either of us would have had the control for that,” she said with a laugh, trying to lighten the tension in the room. The three of them looked up when they heard a car outside.

“It’s my Dad,” Stiles said, craning his neck to look out the window. They heard as the front door opened and the Sheriff walked in dropping his keys on the table.

“Stiles!”

“Up here Dad,” Stiles called down. Sheriff Stilinski slowly made his way up the stairs and appeared in Stiles’ doorway.

“Derek, I thought that was your car outside,” he said, nodding at Derek. “Hailey, good to see you. How’s the arm?”

“It’s alright,” she said, smiling at him and shrugging her shoulders. “It definitely hurts a lot less than yesterday.”

“Well that’s good. Do you two want to stay for dinner? I was thinking of ordering Chinese,” he offered, leaning against the doorway. Hailey looked to Derek who cocked his head to the side and raised a shoulder.

“Sure,” he said, nodding his head.

“We’d love to, thanks,” Hailey said, turning to the Sheriff and smiling.

“Great, I’ll go get the menu,” he said, turning and going back down the stairs.

“Yesterday he arrests you. Today he’s feeding you,” Stiles said with a laugh, shaking his head.

“He didn’t want to arrest me,” Derek said, turning to Stiles.

“I know.”

“I’m going to call my Mom and let her know then we should go downstairs,” Hailey said reaching for her phone.

****

After dinner, Derek went back upstairs to grab Hailey’s things while she helped Stiles and his father clean up. When he came down they were lingering in the entryway saying goodnight. Hailey gave Stiles a hug as Sheriff Stilinski opened the door for them.

“Thank you again for dinner,” Hailey said smiling at him.

“I told you, anytime,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Great talking with you, Derek.”

“You too, Sheriff,” Derek said, following Hailey out on the porch.

“Drive safe,” the Sheriff said as he closed the door behind them.

“He likes you,” Derek said, opening Hailey’s door for her and putting her backpack in the backseat.

“Good because I like him too,” she said as Derek got into the car. “He’s a nice guy.”

“Yeah so I don’t know what Stiles’ problem is,” he said causing Hailey to laugh and hit his arm playfully.

“Stop it,” she said, calming down and relaxing in her seat. Within minutes Derek had pulled up in front of her house and he frowned as he looked out the window.

“I wish I could stay again,” he said, looking towards the ash line.

“Me too,” she said softly, turning her head to look at him.

“I’ll park a few houses down and keep an eye out. Just in case.”

“Just in case,” she said, a slight smile on her face. Derek reached into the backseat and grabbed her bag. Hailey unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door, climbing out and pulling her bag towards her. “Will I see you in the morning at least?”

“I think we can arrange that,” he said, nodding his head.

“Goodnight,” she said with a smile, closing the door and backing her way towards the house. Derek waved before driving down the road and turning around so he could face her house. She quickly made her way inside and locked the door behind her.

“Hi honey!” Alyssa called from the living room. Hailey dropped her bag by the door and made her way in to see her parents sitting on the couch watching one of their shows.

“Hi,” she said, sitting on one of the chairs and turning to face them. Jason reached out and paused the television.

“How was dinner?” he asked.

“It was good,” she said with a smile. “We should have Stiles and his Dad over for dinner sometime. I don’t think they get many home cooked meals.”

“We can have them over this weekend when Derek joins us,” Alyssa said, smiling at Hailey.

“When who joins us?” Jason asked, looking towards his wife.

“I ran into Derek at the hospital this morning and invited him over this weekend for dinner. It will give us a chance to get to know him better.”

“Aly,” Jason started with a sigh.

“Dad,” Hailey said, a tone to her voice. “That was very nice of you, Mom. Thank you.”

“Of course honey,” she said before turning to her husband. “Jason, he’s a very nice young man. Give him a chance.”

“For me,” Hailey said, batting her eyelashes. “You did so well last night. You were very nice but you didn’t really talk to him.”

“Fine,” Jason said with a huff.

“Where’s Aaron?” Hailey asked.

“In his room doing homework,” Alyssa answered.

“Thanks. I’m going to go see him for a bit, finish my homework and go to bed so goodnight,” she said, standing up.

“Goodnight,” they responded simultaneously.

Hailey grabbed her bag from where she had left it and went upstairs. She dropped her things off in her room and changed into more comfortable clothes before going down the hall to Aaron’s room. His door was slightly ajar but she knocked anyway before sticking her head in. Aaron looked up from where he sat on the floor leaning against his bed and smiled.

“You busy?” she asked.

“Nah, I’m almost done. What’s up?” he asked, closing his book and setting it down next to him.

“I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute.”

“Sure,” he said. Hailey walked in and closed the door behind her before sliding down to the floor next to him.

“So,” she started.

“Why was Derek at my school today?” he asked, catching her off-guard. Hailey blinked at him, her mouth opened.

“What?” she asked, at a loss for something else to say.

“During math I looked out the window and I saw him walking by. Why was he there?”

“Um, well… that’s kind of part of what I wanted to talk to you about. That thing that tried to hurt you the other week… Derek knows what it is and he thought it was going to try to hurt you again. So, he was just making sure you were safe,” she explained, maneuvering away from any werewolf mentions.

“What is it?” he asked, his eyes widening.

“I don’t know. He won’t tell me,” she lied, shaking her head. “But tomorrow we have to be really careful. It’s important. Stiles and I are coming to your soccer practice right after we get out of school. When you’re done we’ll bring you home.”

“Why not just let Mom pick me up?”

“I thought she’d like to rest after a long day at work,” she said, another lie.

“Oh, okay. Will Derek be there too?” he asked eagerly.

“No, he won’t be able to make it,” she said and she saw his face fall. “But he told me he’s going to come to all of your games.”

“Really?” he asked and she nodded her head. “Is there anything else?”

“Just that once we get home tomorrow Derek said we should stay inside. No matter what.”

“We never had to deal with this weird stuff back in New York,” Aaron said, shaking his head and Hailey couldn’t help but laugh a little bit.

“I know bud. I wish we didn’t have to. I’ll let you get back to your homework now,” she said, standing up.

“Be careful tomorrow Hails,” he said and she turned to look at him.

“You too, broski,” she said, smiling at him before going to her room. She barely sat down on her bed when her phone started to ring. She pulled it out of her pocket to see that Derek was calling her.

“Nice diversion,” he said and she smiled.

“I did my best,” she said. “I’d love to talk but I really do have homework I need to finish.”

“I understand.”

“Just make sure you don’t act suspicious so the Sheriff doesn’t have to arrest you again,” she joked.

“I won’t,” he said with a slight laugh. “Call before you go to bed?”

“I will,” she said before hanging up the phone and grabbing her backpack.

****

The next morning, Hailey woke up and her nerves automatically kicked in. She knew that for the next twenty-four hours she was going to be on her toes more than ever. After she got dressed she went downstairs to grab breakfast to bring to her room so she could talk to Derek while she ate.

“How are you feeling?” Derek asked as soon as he picked up his phone.

“I’m so nervous,” she said, taking a bite of her bagel.

“I know. Try to keep yourself busy so you’re not thinking about it too much.”

“I’ll do my best. Are you still outside?”

“I haven’t moved,” he said, reassuring her.

“Good. Stiles should be here soon so I’ll see you really soon. I have to get the rest of my stuff together.”

“See you in a minute,” he said and she hung up and went to put the rest of her books in her bag. Once everything was in she heard the doorbell ring and her father called up the stairs for her.

“Well we’ll all be there Friday night cheering you on,” she heard her father saying as she came down the stairs.

“Thanks,” Stiles said with a smile, turning as he heard Hailey coming down the stairs. He met her halfway and took her backpack, slinging it over his shoulder.

“Have a good day, Dad,” Hailey said, grabbing a sweatshirt from the closet.

“Just a second,” he said, causing the two to turn to him. “Before I forget, Stiles, we were all wondering if you and your father would like to come over Saturday night for dinner?”

“Derek’s coming too,” Hailey said pointedly towards Stiles as Jason grunted.

“Oh,” Stiles said, his eyes widening before turning to Jason. “Yeah, uh I’m sure my Dad will be able to get the night off, being Sheriff and all. So I’ll check with him and we’ll get back to you on that.”

“Sounds good,” Jason said, putting a hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “You two should get going so you’re not late.”

“Bye Dad,” Hailey said, waving as she walked out. She and Stiles climbed in the Jeep and Stiles drove down a few houses and parked across the street from Derek. Hailey jumped out and walked across to the Camaro as Derek climbed out.

“Do you want me to drive you to school?” he asked as Hailey wrapped her arms around his torso, her heart beating so fast.

“Would you?” she asked looking up at him as he nodded his head.

“I might as well. I’ll be watching the school but I won’t be able to see you afterwards before I take Scott away so at least we’ll get a little time.”

“It’s better than nothing.”

“I’ll tell Stiles,” he said as Hailey climbed into the Camaro. Knowing that Derek was going to be outside of the school made her feel a lot better. Derek climbed into the driver’s side as Stiles headed towards the school.

“Wait,” Hailey said as Derek started the car. He stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. “Derek you need to be at the elementary school.”

“Hailey…”

“No! It has to be you. Dad only needs either Peter or Isaac outside his office, not both of them. The other can stay at the high school but you have to go to the elementary school. You’re the only one I trust,” she said and Derek closed his eyes as he nodded his head in understanding.

“Okay,” he said softly. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it yesterday.”

“Yesterday was pretty crazy,” she said as he started the drive to school.

“I’ll have Isaac go to the high school,” he said and Hailey nodded her head. She relaxed in her seat but her heart was still racing. Derek picked up on it and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Hey, calm down.”

“I’m trying. I can’t help it,” she said, a shiver running down her spine as she thought of one of the possible outcomes of the night.

“I’m wondering if we should have some of the hunters watching your house tonight,” he said slowly as he mulled it over.

“Do you think they would?”

“I don’t know. They might be too busy trying to track Jackson tonight if possible.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine. We have the ash line,” she said, unsure if she was trying to reassure herself or Derek more. Derek pulled into the school parking lot a few spots over from Stiles’ Jeep.

“Yeah. And if you need me I can be there in five minutes,” he said, opening the door and climbing out. Hailey got out and looked around, half of her expecting to see electric blue eyes peering out at her from every angle.

“I’m going to be so paranoid today it’s ridiculous,” she said, laughing at herself slightly before turning to Derek. He stepped forward and wrapped his arm tight around her waist.

“Stiles,” he said as Stiles made his way over to them. Hailey didn’t move from Derek’s arms as he spoke to Stiles, his voice low. “Today more than ever you need to be on red alert. This isn’t like any other full moon. Not after recent events. I swear to God if anything, anything, happens to Hailey or her family…”

“You’ll rip my throat out with your teeth,” Stiles said, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, it’s time to get a new threat, sour wolf.”

“Stiles,” Hailey said in a warning voice. Slowly she pulled away from Derek and looked up at him. She leaned up for a kiss but he turned his head away, pressing his lips together.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “The full moon heightens our senses. In good and bad ways and I don’t want to risk hurting you.”

“I understand,” she said, regretfully letting go.

“You should go,” Derek said, nodding towards the school and stepping away from Hailey.

“Don’t lose sight of him,” were Hailey’s last words to Derek. He nodded his head and went over to his car as Hailey turned to Stiles who put a comforting arm around her shoulder and led her into the school.

****

During school, Hailey could notice the effects the approaching full moon was having on Scott. His senses were more alert and his attitude was different. She kept an appropriate distance and didn’t bother him much.

As soon as school got out she and Stiles rushed out to his Jeep. Hailey spotted Derek waiting for Scott and was tempted to go to him but she knew Aaron was more important at the moment. When they got to the elementary school the soccer team was just getting onto the field. They took seats on the rickety bleachers and Hailey waved to Aaron with a sigh.

“Now we wait,” Stiles said, looking at Hailey who nodded her head.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Now we wait.”

Once practice was over, Aaron rushed over to Stiles and Hailey, a smile on his face. Stiles grabbed Aaron’s bags and Hailey wrapped her arm around Aaron’s shoulder, holding him close as they moved to the Jeep. Aaron looked around, craning his neck.

“What are you looking for?” Hailey asked.

“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I keep hearing things.”

“That makes two of us,” Hailey said as Aaron climbed into the backseat. Stiles drove them home and parked in the driveway. Hailey climbed out to let Aaron out. As he ran into the house Hailey lingered behind.

“My phone will be on all night. Call me if you need anything. I mean it,” Stiles said.

“I know you do, I will.”

“Promise?” he asked, looking down at his hands then back at her.

“I promise,” she whispered. Stiles smiled and handed over her backpack.

****

The next few hours went by smoothly. Jason returned home without a problem. They went about their business as normal. Hailey was too restless to finish her homework so she set it aside and joined her family in the living room, curling up on the edge of the couch opposite Aaron.

Aaron looked over at her and saw how she was biting her nails. He scooted over and curled up next to her. She was taken aback at first but was quick to wrap her arm around his shoulders and kiss his forehead.

“You two are acting very unusual,” Alyssa noted, a look of confusion on her face. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“It’s not like we fight all the time,” Aaron said.

“No I know but you’re not daisies and sunshine all the time either,” she said causing the four of them to laugh. Suddenly, a loud noise outside brought their attention to the living room window.

“What was that?” Aaron asked.

“It sounded… like a wolf,” Jason said, furrowing his eyebrows. Hailey’s eyes widened and she looked towards her father, shaking her head.

“I heard there aren’t any wolves in California,” she said quickly.

“Well that sure as hell sounded like one.”

“Maybe it’s just a wounded dog,” she said as her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out to read a text from Stiles.

Did you hear that? He asked.

I think everyone in a fifty mile radius heard that she responded.

I wonder who it was he said and Hailey had been wondering the same thing.

I’ll try getting in touch with Derek she said to him, ignoring the conversation her family was having about the loud howl.

Did you let out a full on howl a few minutes ago? She asked Derek.

No. Neither did Scott. It had to have been Jackson… I wish there was a way to check it out but I can’t leave Scott.

It really freaked me out… she said, looking back out towards the window. That’s when she realized Aaron was shaking next to her. She rubbed her hand on his back and he clung to her side.

Have you noticed anything strange outside? Derek asked.

I haven’t looked yet. Give me a minute. Hailey slowly slid away from Aaron and stood up. Her parents looked towards her as she moved towards the staircase.

“I’ll be right back,” she said.

“Are you alright?” Alyssa asked.

“Yeah, just a little cold so I’m going to put something warmer on,” she said, putting a hand on the railing.

“Hurry up or you’ll miss the good part,” Aaron called over his shoulder as he stretched out on the couch.

“Okay, okay,” she said with a slight laugh.

She quickly made her way upstairs and closed her door before going over to sit in her window seat. She stayed completely silent as she looked up and down the street for anything out of the ordinary. At first she didn’t see anything but some movement across the street caught her eye.

Hailey watched as a figure appeared out of the shadows and walked towards her house. Her eyes widened as she leaned closer to the window. The figure stopped at the sidewalk in front of the house and looked down at the ground before looking up, right at her. Electric blue eyes met hers and she gasped, covering her mouth to muffle a scream. Jackson let out a howl so loud that she felt the glass rattle in the panes.

Hailey ran downstairs to see her father ready to open the front door. She slid across the floor in front of him and blocked the door. Jason tried to move her but she held her ground.

“Dad, no!” she shouted causing him to step back. “It’s a wolf, I saw it.”

“I’m calling animal control,” he said, turning to go into the kitchen. Hailey fumbled in her pocket for her phone as Aaron rushed over to the front window to look outside.

Jackson’s outside my house get here now! She sent to Derek, nearly dropping the phone.

She looked over into the living room and saw Aaron looking at her, his eyes wide and a pained expression on his face. Hailey gulped and nodded her head. Alyssa stepped over and put her hands on Aaron’s shoulders, trying to lead him to the stairs and up to bed. Hailey looked out the window next to the door when she heard the Camaro approaching but she didn’t see it.

In the other room she could hear Jason fighting on the phone with animal control. Something about how he didn’t care what reports said and that he heard a wolf and wanted someone to come immediately. Hailey moved to the living room and kneeled on the couch to look out the window. Her eyes were met with the sight of Derek fighting with Jackson in the middle of the street. She was almost unable to tell who was who because it was so dark out, until she saw Derek’s red eyes. She could see the figures of her neighbors across the street in their front window, looking to see what the commotion was about and she was thankful it was so dark.

After a few minutes another car came down the street, it’s headlights off. It came to an abrupt stop and someone jumped out of the car. Hailey squinted, trying to figure out who it could be. Whoever it was caught Jackson’s attention as he dropped Derek to the ground. The other figure raised its arm towards Jackson. Hailey could clearly hear Jackson yelp out in pain and watched as he ran away, clutching his side. She jumped up from the couch and ran to the door, throwing it open and stepping out.

“Hailey don’t you dare go out there!” Jason called from the kitchen where he was on hold. Hailey bit her lip and looked over her shoulder before looking back out at the street.

The other figure turned to Hailey and shook their head, pointing to the house. Hailey hesitated, wanting to run over to Derek where he was lying on the ground unmoving. Finally she stepped back, closing and locking the door behind her before running up to her room. She looked out to see the person help Derek up, practically carrying him over to their car. They drove off and Hailey attempted to call Derek’s cell phone immediately.

Her leg bounced up and down faster with each ring, a tear leaking out when it went to his voicemail. She tried two more times, each time ending the same way. Resting her head back against the wall she took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down before she called Stiles.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, answering on the first ring. Hailey squeezed her eyes shut as more tears fell and took a shaky breath. “Hails? I need words please.”

“Derek’s h-hurt,” she gasped out. “I don’t… I don’t know where he is o-or who… he’s with.”

“What do you mean?”

“S-someone showed up and hurt J-Jackson… they t-took Derek. He’s not a-answering his phone.”

“I’m coming over,” he said and she could hear him moving around his room, probably gathering some things together.

“And what do I tell my p-parents?”

“Nothing, I’ll sneak in the same way Derek did,” he said matter-of-factly.

“H-how?”

“I’m very good at rope climbing,” he said causing Hailey to let out a slight laugh. “I’ve got some here and I’ll lasso it up to you when I get there.”

“I’m not going to ask why you have rope,” she said, her voice calm now. She sniffed and wiped away a few tears as she heard Stiles’ Jeep start.

“Probably a good idea,” he said and she knew he was joking, just trying to cheer her up. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay, hurry,” she said before hanging up. She set the phone down and wiped at her face with the sleeves of her shirt. There were a few knocks on her door and she took a few deep breaths before standing up and walking over.

“Well, animal control said they’ll come out in the morning and have a look around to see if they can find any tracks or anything,” Jason said, resting his arm on the doorframe and resting his weight on it.

“Oh well, at least it ran away,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“For now,” he said, looking down. Hailey shifted uncomfortably and shrugged her shoulders. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” she said quickly. Jason raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.

“Alright,” he said with a sigh. “I think we’ve all had enough excitement for tonight. Mom and I are going in to bed but we’ll probably be up for a little bit. Everything’s all locked up downstairs.”

“Okay,” she said with a smile. “Goodnight.”

“Night,” he said, nodding his head and turning to go to his room.

Hailey closed her door and moved over to her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. She looked up when she heard her door creak open and Aaron poked his head inside. She patted the bed next to her and he quickly walked in closing the door behind him and ran over to the bed.

“It’s alright,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him. He squeezed her tight and she could feel his heart racing.

“It was that thing again, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “It was.”

“Did Derek show up again?” he asked, pulling away to look up at her.

“He did,” she said, nodding her head.

“Where is he?”

“I…”

“Hails?” Aaron asked softly, looking up at her. The tears had come again. “Why are you crying?”

“Because he’s hurt… and I don’t know where he is,” she said. Aaron’s face scrunched up in confusion and she sighed. “Someone else came and scared that thing away then they took Derek.”

“I’m sure he’s okay,” he said, squeezing her tight again. “I’m going to go to bed.”

“Goodnight.”

Aaron slid off the bed and left to go to his room. Hailey let out a sob as soon as he shut the door. Her phone rang a few seconds later and she went over to the window to pick it up.

“I’m here,” Stiles said.

Hailey looked out the window to see him standing on the lawn, rope wound around his shoulder and his backpack secured to his back. He waved at Hailey and she set the phone back down, opening her window. Stiles had the end of the rope lassoed and he swung it over his head causing Hailey to laugh. He tried twice and failed to get it up to her.

The third time he swung it harder and finally tossed it high enough for Hailey to reach out and grab it, much to her surprise. She secured the rope around the foot of her bed, hoping it would be strong enough. Hailey went back over to the window and nodded her head to Stiles. He gave her a thumb up and grabbed tight to the rope, tugging at it to make sure it was secure. Hailey watched as he wrapped his hands around it and pulled himself up, stunning her with his strength. It took longer than she thought but soon enough he was scrambling onto the roof outside her window, puffing for breath.

“Good job,” she whispered, taking his backpack from him through the window as he crawled through. He sat on her window seat catching his breath before pulling the rest of the rope up through the window.

“There,” he huffed. “Easy-peasy.”

“Stiles,” she said softly, sitting down next to him.

“I know,” he whispered, frowning as he pulled her close. “I’m here.”