Poison and Wine

The next morning Hailey and Derek woke up and for a few moments, everything seemed almost normal. They got dressed; Stiles came over, Alyssa made everyone breakfast, and then they all went together to the elementary school for Aaron’s soccer game. Friday night they’re all tied up and about to be bitten by a werewolf, Saturday morning they’re at a soccer game. Hailey didn’t question it, she sat next to Derek and relished in the normalcy… until Stiles’ cellphone rang.

“Who was that?” she asked when he hung up.

“My Dad,” he said, turning to look at her. “He wants us to come down to the station. Now.”

“Aaron’s game’s only half over,” she said, looking to the field.

“He said it’s urgent,” he said, standing up.

“I’ll tell my parents,” she said with a sigh, standing up and turning towards the concession stand.

“I’ll call Peter and Isaac,” Derek said, pulling his phone back out of his pocket.

“Uh, Mom, Dad?” she said, walking over to them.

“Hi honey, do you want something?” Alyssa asked, pointing to the table.

“No uh just… Derek, Stiles, and I have to go,” she said, pointing over her shoulder to Derek on the phone. “To the station.”

“Call us when you’re on your way home,” Alyssa said with a smile.

“We will. Apologize to Aaron for us?” she asked and Jason nodded. Hailey walked back over to Stiles as Derek grabbed their things. They walked over to the Jeep and shoved their things in the back before climbing in..

“So I’ll just take you to get your car afterwards since Dad wants us there sooner rather than later,” Stiles said.

“Fine,” Derek said, nodding his head.

****

Stiles pulled into the station’s parking lot just as Scott and the Argent’s got out of Chris’ car. They walked inside to see Peter and Isaac in the front desk area with the Sheriff. Sheriff Stilinski nodded his head at all of them before leading them to the back room where all of the deputies were standing around talking between the rows of tables.

“How the hell are you still alive?” asked the deputy that had shot Derek the night before.

“Shut up, Carl,” Stiles said with a sigh.

“She’s not gonna slap me again is she?” he asked, pointing to Hailey. She smirked and cocked her head to the side.

“That depends,” she said and he flinched.

“Everyone sit down and shut up,” Sheriff Stilinski said sternly. The room fell silent and he waited until everyone was seated while Hailey and the others stood in the front of the room with him. “What these people are about to tell you is very important. If one of you speaks before they are through, you will be stuck doing all the paperwork for the next six months. Is that clear?”

“Yes sir,” they chorused and Carl raised an eyebrow but sat back in his seat to listen.

“Now, what they’re going to say you may not believe. At least… not at first. Just hear them out. They have visual proof and if that doesn’t help you I don’t know what will,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Uh boss… you’re sounding a little nuts,” Carl said.

“Shut it, Thompson. Okay um… Derek why don’t you start it off?” he asked, leaning against the desk in front and crossing his ankles.

Derek began to explain about being a werewolf and why he’s still alive. Hailey stood by his side and looked around the room observing the reactions of the deputies. A few were wide-eyed; one woman had her hand over her mouth. Carl had his arms crossed and was shaking his head.

“So you’re saying you’re a werewolf?” he asked sarcastically.

“Hey! What did I say?” the Sheriff shouted, standing up straight.

“I’m sorry boss but you really can’t expect us to believe this shit!” Carl said, waving his hand in Derek’s direction.

“Yes in fact, I do,” he said, returning to the desk and turning to Derek and the others. “Gentlemen?”

Hailey, Stiles, and the Argents stepped to the side so that Derek, Peter, Scott, and Isaac could stand front and center. They all started to transform for the deputies to see. Their eyes were glowing, the bones in their necks cracked. Hailey looked to see every deputy had the same facial expression. Eyes wide, mouths starting to form o’s, knuckles white from gripping the tables. Someone screamed and Sheriff Stilinski turned to them, hands up.

“Everybody stay calm. They won’t hurt you,” he said with emphasis.

“You say that now,” Carl said, a hint of fear in his voice.

“They didn’t hurt you last night did they? They had multiple chances but instead you, Carl, shot him,” the Sheriff said, pointing to Derek. “All because he moved.”

“Hey, I didn’t know what he was doing. It was self defense.”

“He was moving away from you, you idiot,” Hailey scoffed.

“Hailey,” Sheriff Stilinski said warningly.

“Sorry,” she said, turning to glare at Carl.

“So if these four are werewolves, how do those four fit in?” Carl asked.

“Stiles has been helping them for the past year. Helping them save our lives. Ours and the rest of the town the best that they could. The Argents are hunters,” the Sheriff said.

“Hunters?”

“Werewolf hunters. They’ve been working together with these four to get rid of a common enemy.

“What’s that, vampires? Watch out Beacon Hills, the Cullen’s are in town,” Carl said eliciting some laughter from the others.

“I swear to God, Thompson, one more outburst and you’re behind the desk doing paperwork for a year,” Sheriff Stilinski shouted and the room fell silent again.

“The common enemy is another werewolf. He’s responsible for all of the murders lately. In his attempts to bite people to turn them into more wolves, he ended up killing them,” Chris explained.

“Who’s he?” one of the other deputies asked, her voice shaking.

“Jackson Whittemore,” Derek said and it was completely silent throughout the room for about thirty seconds until Carl burst out in laughter.

“That’s it, Thompson! Paperwork every day for the next year. Give me your gun,” Sheriff Stilinski shouted, moving to stand in front of Carl holding his hand out.

“Oh come on boss! These wolves I can deal with but you can’t expect me to believe that Jackson Whittemore, son of one of the most powerful men in Beacon Hills, is a homicidal maniac werewolf?”

“Listen,” Hailey said with a sigh, stepping forward and she heard Derek let out a low growl. “We’re not going to force you to believe us but Jackson is out to attack my family. His girlfriend, Lydia Martin, is helping him. Now she’s not a wolf, she seems to be immune to the whole thing, but she does things he can’t. Jackson wants to build a pack and doesn’t care how many people he kills in the process. I will not let his next victim be me or one of my family members.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” Carl asked.

“We all need to work together and form a plan,” the Sheriff said.

“A plan for what?” someone in the back of the room asked. It was silent as they all hesitated to answer; no one wanted to be the one to say it.

“To kill Jackson,” Derek finally said.

“Oh hell no. No, no, no,” Carl said, shaking his head and throwing his hands up. “I am not going to be a part of a murder plot to kill the son of the best lawyer in town.”

“Carl, when’s the last time you’ve heard or seen Mr. and Mrs. Whittemore?” Stiles asked.

“What?” Carl asked.

“Stiles and I did a little background check last night,” Sheriff Stilinski said. “Mr. Whittemore hasn’t been into work at all in the past month. He’s been using all his saved up vacation days. And Mrs. Whittemore hasn’t been seen around town in the same amount of time.”

“So you think they’re… what? Dead?”

“Yes,” Stiles and his father said at the same time. Carl stayed silent as he thought about it. Hailey’s eyes were wide because this was news to her.

“So how de we kill him?” asked the same woman from before.

“There are two options,” Sheriff Stilinski said, flinching at the reminder.

“The first is to cut his body in half at the waist,” Chris said and some of the deputies gasped.

“The second is to shoot him with wolfs bane bullets,” Derek said.

“Wolfs bane?” Carl asked.

“It’s a plant that’s toxic to werewolves. Especially when it’s in the bloodstream,” Stiles said.

“And where do we get some?”

“We have a whole armory full of the bullets,” Chris said. “And Deaton has a fresh supply of the wolfs bane.”

“Deaton as in the veterinarian, Deaton?” Carl asked.

“Yes,” Scott said.

“So how does he tie into all of this?” someone asked.

“He’s very… educated on the topic,” Stiles said.

“We figure the best time to go after Jackson would be the next full moon in about three weeks,” Peter said. “After last night we know there won’t be an easy way to find him. He’ll stay away from his house. The Martin girl will most likely be with him.”

“Why the full moon?” Carl asked.

“That’s when he’ll be most powerful so he’ll try his hardest to go after Hailey’s family,” Derek said.

“How do you know he’ll definitely go after them?” a guy in the very front asked.

“Because I’m Derek’s mate,” Hailey said, crossing her arms against her chest.

“A very precious commodity when it comes to a power struggle,” Peter said with a smug look on his face and Derek snapped in his direction causing the deputies in the front row to jump back.

“Derek, not really helping the they won’t hurt you case when you do that,” she said, putting her hand on his arm and could feel him trembling. He calmed down and nodded his head.

“Why?” asked Carl.

“Derek’s an Alpha. Jackson’s supposed to be a Beta but at this point might as well be an Omega meaning he needs power. If he can somehow turn Hailey’s family and not kill them he has a way to get Derek to join him. More wolves equals more strength,” Stiles explained.

“Okay, so let me get this straight…”

“Thompson!” Sheriff Stilinski shouted and Carl held his hands up in defense.

“Hold up boss, I seriously just want to get this straight. Either we kill the Whittemore kid or there’s a fifty percent chance that a whole family gets murdered?”

“Plus some,” the Sheriff said, nodding his head. “Here’s the deal. We need every person involved. If you don’t think you can do it for any reason you talk to me and we’ll figure something out. Not a word of this can be breathed to anyone. Not your husbands, wives, siblings, parents, no one. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” they chorused.

“As soon as enough wolfs bane bullets are made we’ll distribute them. You need them on you at all times if by any chance Jackson decides to appear in town before the full moon,” Chris said.

“Until then, the Argents are going to share some other ways of dealing with this type of situation,” the Sheriff said. “Gentlemen if you could…”

Derek nodded and he, Scott, Isaac, and Peter changed back to normal. Stiles went to talk to his Dad for a minute while they went outside to wait for him. Peter and Isaac took off and Derek and Hailey waited by the Jeep until Stiles came out to bring them to get Derek’s car.

“That Thompson guy sure is… something,” Derek said as Stiles started driving.

“I told Hailey he was a douchebag,” Stiles said, shrugging his shoulders.

“That’s one word for it,” Hailey said, rolling her eyes.

“I think he means well but just doesn’t go about it the right way,” Derek said and Hailey and Stiles both turned to him, mouths open. The Jeep started to swerve to the left.

“Stiles!” Derek and Hailey both shouted causing him to turn back to the front and get the Jeep back in the right lane.

“Sorry but… is Derek I-hate-everyone Hale actually defending someone?” Stiles asked and Derek huffed and slouched back even further in his seat.

“Stiles if you weren’t such a freak I think your reaction might have been similar to that when you first found out. But no, you were the one to figure it out before Scott was,” Derek said and Hailey laughed.

“Wait, I didn’t know that,” Hailey said as Stiles pulled into the apartment complex’s parking lot.

“I like my research,” he said, shrugging his shoulders as he pulled up next to Derek’s car. Derek and Hailey climbed out and Hailey walked over to the driver’s side of the Jeep.

“So my Mom texted me right before we left the station and said Aaron’s team won and they were heading over to the diner. She said you’re welcome to join us if you want,” she said.

“Oh thank God I’m starving,” he said causing Hailey to laugh.

“We’ll meet you there,” she said, patting the hood as she walked over to Derek’s car and climbed in.

****

“There you are,” Alyssa said when Hailey and the boys walked into the diner.

“Hey,” Hailey said, smiling at her parents. “Sorry we missed the big win, Aaron.”

“It’s alright,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Dad told me you had to go talk to Stiles’ Dad.”

“How was your… meeting?” Jason asked.

“Uh we’ll talk about it later,” Hailey said, nodding towards the waitress who was coming their way. “That is if Derek can come back to the house after?”

“Um… fine,” Jason said with a sigh.

****

After lunch at the diner, which was much less awkward than the first lunch with Derek, they all returned to the Miner’s house. Stiles only stayed long enough to part the line for Derek and then reconnect it. Aaron went upstairs to clean up the post-game dirt and Hailey, Derek, and her parents went to the living room to talk.

“So… what happened at this meeting?” Alyssa asked, looking from Hailey to Derek.

“When we got there, Allison and her father were there along with Scott, Isaac, and Peter. Sheriff Stilinski had Derek and the others transform to prove to the deputies that what they were saying was true. And they explained about Jackson and the wolfs bane and everything really,” Hailey said shrugging her shoulders.

“What was the reaction like?” Jason asked.

“Mostly what you’d expect,” Derek said. “A lot of shock, confusion, uncertainty… but I think all of them really understand that this is real and that it’s serious. When we left the Argents were still there to tell them more about the hunting details.”

“I’ve had… something on my mind since last night,” Jason said, his tone of voice changing to something more calm as he looked at Derek. “I… I want to help.”

“No,” Hailey said, shaking her head.

“With all due respect Mr. Miner, I agree with Hailey,” Derek said.

“And with all due respect, son, this is my family. My responsibility. I think you can understand what I’m feeling,” Jason said and Derek nodded.

“I do but it’s not worth you risking your life.”

“My life is in danger no matter what. I already own a gun. I just need some of those bullets. God forbid Jackson were to show up here and none of you seem to know what Lydia is capable of I need to be able to protect my family. You can’t be here twenty-four seven.”

“Since when do you have a gun?” Alyssa asked

“Since before we were even married,” Jason said and Alyssa’s eyes widened.

“Derek… he’s right,” Hailey said, putting her hand on Derek’s knee and looking up at him.

“I’ll talk to Argent,” Derek said and Jason nodded, leaning back in his seat.

"I’ve also had something on my mind since last night… but not quite to that extent,” Alyssa said, turning to her husband.

“What is it Mom?” Hailey asked.

“Your arm, honey. Did you really break it falling down the stairs?”

“Uh… not exactly,” Hailey said, biting her lip.

“How?” Jason asked.

“Truthfully… Jackson did it,” she said and her father pursed his lips. “Derek, Isaac, and Peter were keeping an eye on things while I was at Jackson’s house and he was able to hear them and…”

“Wait, hear them?” Alyssa asked.

“That’s part of the wolf thing I forgot to mention,” Derek said, nodding his head. “We can hear things humans can’t, heartbeats for example. And there’s also a stronger sense of smell. Stuff like that.”

“Okay,” Alyssa said slowly turning to Hailey with wide eyes. “Continue.”

“So Jackson could hear them and he must have texted Lydia or Danny and had one of them call the cops and next thing I know Sheriff Stilinski is outside leading Derek to his car in handcuffs while some deputies had Peter and Isaac. After they left I went back inside and Jackson held me against the wall and broke my arm when I tried to retaliate. Then he tried to bite me and miraculously, Scott and Stiles showed up and saved my life.”

“You should have told us about this sooner,” Jason said, putting his head in his hands before looking back up at Derek and Hailey.

“Probably,” Derek said causing Jason to look at him. “But what’s done is done.”

“Fine,” Jason said. “But what’s going on is Jackson and Lydia have hit the road, correct?”

“From what we can tell, yes,” Derek said, nodding his head. “Peter and Isaac were outside their houses all night and there was no sign of them.”

“So what makes you so sure he’ll actually come back?” Alyssa asked.

“Remember when I said I’m Derek’s mate?” Hailey asked and her parents nodded. “That’s why. Jackson’s really after me more than he is the three of you.”

“Well really… he’s after me,” Derek said and Hailey shrugged her shoulders in agreement.

“But you’re already a werewolf,” Jason said and Derek shook his head.

“That’s not why. He wants me as part of his pack. For the strength and the power and the only way he can do that is if he uses Hailey to get to me.”

“Just when I think I have this all figured out there’s just more to it that keeps coming,” Alyssa said.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Hailey said with a laugh.

“What do you mean?” Alyssa asked.

“Turns out Jackson’s parents are dead,” Hailey said.

“He killed them,” Jason said, a statement not a question.

“That’s what we believe, yes,” Derek said, nodding his head.

“Well that’s just… wonderful,” Jason said

“The next few weeks are going to be stressful. None of you can be alone,” Derek said.

“So what do we do?” Alyssa asked.

“Well when you’re at work, either Peter or Isaac will be there to watch out for you. I’ll be at Aaron’s school and Hailey will have Stiles, Scott and Allison.”

“Is there any way we can get Mrs. McCall involved?” Hailey asked looking at Derek. “Obviously not give her a gun but… is there anyway to liquefy the wolfs bane or something and then we can put it in syringes that she can carry around at the hospital in case something were to happen there?”

“That’s actually a good idea,” Derek said, his eyebrows furrowing together. “I’ll talk to the others about it and see what they say.”

“If you can I want some of my own,” Alyssa said, sitting up straighter in her seat.

“Mom,” Hailey started but Alyssa held her hand up.

“If your father gets a gun I deserve to have some syringes,” she said and Hailey bit her lip to keep from laughing.

“Alright,” Hailey said.

“What about me?” Aaron asked causing all four of them to turn to where he stood at the bottom of the stairs.

“Aaron,” Jason said with a sigh, standing up and walking over to him.

“I want to help too,” he said, looking up at his father.

“I know you do bud,” Jason said, kneeling down to Aaron’s level. “But this is dangerous stuff. You’re nine years old. You’ll be fine.”

“If Mom gets a way to protect herself, and you get a gun, and Hailey will have Allison at school… what do I get?” he asked.

“Me,” Derek said, standing up and walking over to stand next to Jason. “You get me. And that’s better than any kind of weapon you could ask for.”

“You’ll be there with me at school all the time?” he asked and Derek nodded his head.

“I will bring you there and back myself to make things even easier than they would be. I’ll stay outside all day, even for your practices. Nothing will be able to hurt you. Plus, I’ll give you the cool factor with your friends,” Derek said with a smile.

“That’s true,” Aaron said, smiling back. “Okay, if you promise that it will be okay.”

“I promise,” Derek said and Aaron nodded.

****

“That was very cool of you,” Hailey said later that night, as she and Derek got ready for bed.

“What was?” he asked, stepping out of his jeans and pulling off his shirt leaving him in his boxers.

“Uh...” Hailey said, losing concentration as she looked at him. He rolled his eyes and climbed into bed. “Uh, with Aaron. Before.”

“I was just telling the truth,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“I get you being somewhat open with me but I never expected it with anyone else. Let alone my little brother,” she said, climbing into bed next to him.

“He… he reminds me of one of my cousins,” Derek said softly and Hailey’s face fell slightly as she turned to him.

“Okay,” she whispered as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders pulling her into him.

She understood that he wouldn’t want to talk anymore about it so she didn’t say anymore. Derek reached over to shut the light off and fell back against the pillows, his arm wrapped tight around Hailey. She closed her eyes with her head resting on his shoulder and waited for this seemingly never-ending nightmare to be over.