Status: Active ♥
A Place to Call Home
Four
It was a couple of days before Dakota shifted back to human, sitting on Stiles’ bed and deciding to head out for a walk. She was unfamiliar with her surroundings, but the woods held a peaceful atmosphere and had offered a safe haven before Stiles had come across her.
The breeze carried the scent of the woods and Dakota inhaled deeply, smiling as she continued along the trail. She had just reached a small clearing, when she heard movement behind her and spun around.
“These woods are not the safest place for a young girl like yourself to be wandering alone,” came Gerard’s voice as he emerged from the trees, “You’re the one staying with the Stilinskis, am I correct?”
“Sheriff Stilinski is my uncle,” Dakota replied without hesitation.
“I wasn’t aware that the sheriff had siblings.”
“I wasn’t aware that that was information you needed to have.”
“Well...”
A shift in the wind brought a new scent and Dakota relaxed slightly, looking passed Gerard to where Derek was now standing. The alpha approached without a word, looking Dakota over as if searching for injuries and speaking.
“Are you okay?” he asked, earning a nod from Dakota and turning to face Gerard, “You are trespassing on my land, Argent.”
“Oops, I didn’t realize... my mistake,” Gerard stated innocently.
There was a short silence that settled among the two men, before Gerard smirked and walked away. Dakota headed back to the loft with Derek and took time to take everything in, running her fingertips along the spines of numerous books that sat on a shelf.
“Feel free to take a look if anything catches your eye,” Derek told her from where he stood at the oven.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Dakota read in her head, scanning the various titles and pausing when her eyes landed on the odd book out, Peter Pan by J.M.Barrie
“Who’s Laura?” Dakota inquired as she opened the book, running her fingers over the scruffy writing on the inside cover and glancing over at Derek.
“My sister, she used to love sitting out on the front porch of our childhood home and reading.”
“My mom used to read to me every night,” Dakota mumbled, “She said that it was to comfort me, but I think that it comforted her and my dad just as much.”
Her parents had sacrificed their lives in an attempt to get her out of that prison, but it hadn’t worked and only left her to suffer alone. Not all of her memories were bad and, if she thought about it hard enough, she could still feel the warmth of her parent's arms around her.
Derek’s hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up at him, seeing the understanding in his eyes.
“I lost my parents as well, not in the same way, but I know how it feels,” Derek told her honestly.
Though it wouldn’t bring her parents back, just knowing that there was someone that understood helped, and perhaps, in the future, it would be something that they could talk about together.
The breeze carried the scent of the woods and Dakota inhaled deeply, smiling as she continued along the trail. She had just reached a small clearing, when she heard movement behind her and spun around.
“These woods are not the safest place for a young girl like yourself to be wandering alone,” came Gerard’s voice as he emerged from the trees, “You’re the one staying with the Stilinskis, am I correct?”
“Sheriff Stilinski is my uncle,” Dakota replied without hesitation.
“I wasn’t aware that the sheriff had siblings.”
“I wasn’t aware that that was information you needed to have.”
“Well...”
A shift in the wind brought a new scent and Dakota relaxed slightly, looking passed Gerard to where Derek was now standing. The alpha approached without a word, looking Dakota over as if searching for injuries and speaking.
“Are you okay?” he asked, earning a nod from Dakota and turning to face Gerard, “You are trespassing on my land, Argent.”
“Oops, I didn’t realize... my mistake,” Gerard stated innocently.
There was a short silence that settled among the two men, before Gerard smirked and walked away. Dakota headed back to the loft with Derek and took time to take everything in, running her fingertips along the spines of numerous books that sat on a shelf.
“Feel free to take a look if anything catches your eye,” Derek told her from where he stood at the oven.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Dakota read in her head, scanning the various titles and pausing when her eyes landed on the odd book out, Peter Pan by J.M.Barrie
“Who’s Laura?” Dakota inquired as she opened the book, running her fingers over the scruffy writing on the inside cover and glancing over at Derek.
“My sister, she used to love sitting out on the front porch of our childhood home and reading.”
“My mom used to read to me every night,” Dakota mumbled, “She said that it was to comfort me, but I think that it comforted her and my dad just as much.”
Her parents had sacrificed their lives in an attempt to get her out of that prison, but it hadn’t worked and only left her to suffer alone. Not all of her memories were bad and, if she thought about it hard enough, she could still feel the warmth of her parent's arms around her.
Derek’s hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up at him, seeing the understanding in his eyes.
“I lost my parents as well, not in the same way, but I know how it feels,” Derek told her honestly.
Though it wouldn’t bring her parents back, just knowing that there was someone that understood helped, and perhaps, in the future, it would be something that they could talk about together.
♠ ♠ ♠
Happy Reading ♥