[Derek Hale POV]
'Where did I go wrong?' That was the question that had been plaguing Derek's mind since he woke up strapped these metal bars for who knows how many days it's been.
The possible answer to that question was something he was aware of, even before his capture, but acknowledging it left a sickening taste in his mouth. One more sour that the taste of him swallowing his own blood.
He had become arrogant and less cautious.
On another hand, the Hunters that caught him had been more cautious and patient for the most opportuned for them to act. And despite his struggles and fierce retaliation befitting of a Hale Alpha, he still ended up being captured.
And the worst part of it all was that his arrogance and shortsightedness had led to his two betas being captured and tortured before his eyes.
More than the boiling rage he felt every time he saw Gerard's face, the pain and regret he felt every time he watched Isaac being brutally tortured just seemed to break something in him.
Even when he tried not to watch it, the sick old man made sure that the screams echoed through the loudspeakers and metal pipes in this room.
'Forgive me. Isaac. Erica.' He apologized to them in his heart as he knew that despite his answer, Gerard could still decide to prolong their torture just for the kick of it before killing them once he got bored and had satiated whatever twisted sense of revenge he had.
'No, not revenge.'
It couldn't be that. If he had been hell bent on revenge he would have tortured Derek too, more so than he did Isaac.
Derek had no delusion that Gerard was going to let him live after this, or any of them for that matter.
This was another reason why he refused to give Gerard the bite he so badly wanted.
The bite wasn't just a way for an Alpha to gain a new beta. It was much more significant than that.
If it had just been about gaining a beta, Peter wouldn't have put much, if any effort at all, into bringing Scott into the fold and turning him into a killer. He would have just found another person willing to join him in his fight for revenge in exchange for the price of power.
The bite was more of a ritual that spiritually bonded the Alpha to their betas in a way that no one can ever understand. It created a bond so strong that sometimes the Alpha can even feel if their beta were ever in grave distress or dead.
Rather than an underling, the betas were more like children, a fact that even the most psychopathic Alpha could attest to even if they could care less about it.
So how could he do that? How could he give a part of his soul and bond it with Gerard's?
Someone that tortured his beta. The same man that will kill them after getting what he wanted from him, and then kill him too to take his Alpha spark.
His insides twisted just at the mere thought of having any kind of positive relationship with Gerard, certainly not a familial one.
'Ha ha ha. What can I even do at this point? One way of the other, he is bound to get what he wants.' This was something he knew that whether he accepted it or not, it would happen regardless.
He would cave in at some point once the mental and physical torture becomes too much for him.
Though it is said that an Alpha can fall back to being a beta if the foundation of his ascension was destroyed, it was something that rarely ever happens.
With everything laid out for him like this, Derek only had one thing to say to himself.
"If I get out of here, I'll make sure you feel the same pain and regret I'm feeling."
...
Night came and even though one of them wanted to stay behind and try to help as much as they could, they had to leave but not before promising Mrs. Martin that they will be back the next day.
Whether it was because they tried waking her up or something else, Lydia's condition started getting progressively better once the evening came.
Malia had Allison drive her to where Tristan texted her to come for a formerly unplanned hang out.
Allison knew their situation so she didn't ask any questions after knowing they were hanging out with Brett and possibly other members of their pack and just drove home to catch a good night's sleep after everything that happened today.
"Malia, over here!" Lori called out as soon as she stepped inside the game center.
"Damn, girl! It feels as if you are getting bigger in the little time I don't see you." Tierney let out a whistle as she saw Malia, who in her eyes, was growing an extra size in certain places.
"Hey, Tee. Sorry I can't say the same about you." Though sounding like bash, it wasn't as the girl in question had the same proportions as her. "Where's Trist and Brett?"
"They went to pay for the drinks and reserve a spot for us." Lori answered as she sat on Malia's left side, keeping the latter in between her and Tierney.
"I heard you were with Allison looking after Lydia. How is she doing?" Lori asked, more after Allison than Lydia. She and Brett had hung out with them and Allison one time and she hadn't had a chance to meet the girl for another hangout since then.
"Allison? She's alright. She was the one who dropped me off, but I can't answer for Lydia since I have no idea what's wrong with her."
"Hmm, I would have loved to meet Allison but maybe another time. She's gotta be pretty fun to be around if Malia is still friends with her even after everything." Tierney commented.
To her, other than a pretty face and a good body, Malia was probably harder to keep as a friend than Tristan. You just need to understand that the latter isn't much of a talker and you can work through that. But Malia, well…
"Seems like Malia is already here so let's get the night started!" Their conversation paused there when Brett and Tristan came back with refreshments and their tickets.
…..
The next morning, Tristan groggily woke up in the living room and found himself entangled with four other people.
They had watched a trilogy after having fun outside and just crashed there on the floor, too tired to sleep in their rooms.
He tapped Tierney who was the closest person to his hands and left her to wake the others while he rushed to clean up and prepare for school knowing there was no way to avoid being late this time around.
The others quickly got up and were glad they couldn't suffer hangovers due to them being werewolves.
"Thirsty?" He nodded at Malia's offer and sunk his fangs into her neck and drank more than a few satisfying gulps.
He released his fangs from her neck and let out an involuntary sigh of exhilaration as he felt his blood jolting with excitement after being invigorated.
"Bye guys." Malia waved at the other three who had gotten ready and decided to have breakfast before leaving. "Don't forget to lock up when you leave."
Even with Tristan's superb driving while going above the speed limit, they still couldn't beat the time and were late for the first period and Tristan ended up being called to the guidance counselor office for the second time.
"Come in, Tristan." The voice of Ms. Morrell beckoned him in after the first knock.
"How did you know it was me?" He asked after taking his seat in front of her. Somehow he just couldn't make heads or tails when it came to the woman in front of him.
'Maybe it is a therapist thing. It would after all prove counterproductive if just about anyone could get a read on a therapist.'
Even if he knew that wasn't it, he wasn't about to put his legs in unknown waters. People's secrets were theirs to keep and he preferred it that way.
Epicetus did say that 'keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours.'
"You are the only one I made an appointment with at this time." She said with a calming and disarming smile.
Tristan just nodded and didn't dwell on it anymore and asked her reason for requesting his presence.
"I heard from Mrs. Martin, Lydia's mother, that two of her friends, Allison and Malia, visited her daughter and it seems like she's doing a bit better than the past few days. A most glad news."
"I don't understand." Tristan voiced the confusion that he didn't bother hiding from showing on his face. "Yes, Allison and Malia visited her yesterday, but why am I called here? If anything it should be them here, not me."
She composedly nodded, having already expected a question like this. "It's just that I don't understand why you won't visit her, even reluctant to do so might I add."
Now he was just lost.
"It's nothing of that sort and I see no reason in doing so, more so when I'm not that close to her in the first place." He said, hoping the woman would just drop it and he could go back to class but it seemed like she had other plans.
"Even when you are the only one in this school, aside from me, who she received genuine advice from?"
"Huh?"
Seeing his further confusion, she slowly explained. "Before she had a mental breakdown, we had a few sessions where I asked her if she had anyone she could turn to for advice because you were the only one she mentioned absentmindedly."
"So?" He had no idea when he gave Lydia any sort of advice. They did talk a few times but that was it. And during all those times, he rarely if ever attempted to prolong their conversation.
"I'm just looking out for a hurt little girl and what she needs right now is someone she might consider listening to." She said, sounding almost as if pleading. "I just want you to try is all. I heard she was looking for you a few times before she stopped coming to school. It could've been that she was looking for someone she trusts might truly listen to her."
"Please, consider doing it for someone who might really need your help if nothing else."
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