Chapter Text
He's not that injured after the fall. Okay. There was a spinal reconstruction and several internal organs that ruptured, including a collapsed lung, but most of that was repaired by the time he made it to the high school. He texted as much to Stiles with the warning to keep his living status secret.
His pack, such as it was, had been on a field trip or something, and part of him was very glad to not have them around. The alphas' goal had been for him to kill his pack, and even slightly weakened wasn't the best way to fend off memory manipulating powermad assholes. Also, since only two people knew the fall didn't kill him, anonymity would by Derek some much needed time to deal with the other problem in his territory, Beacon Hills.
Ms. Blake, the school teacher, was a high priorty problem. Ever since Derek first saw her in the basement, he felt something diffent about her, smelled something wrong. She also knew there were monsters and didn't flinch at the sight of them, and even if her scent wasn't uniquely off putting, Derek still needed to find out more about her and what her intentions were towards his pack.
So he did the gentlemanly thing of passing out in her presence. It was an old trick tried and tested. He used it to find out if he could trust a person. Appear weak before them, give them the task of getting him help, see if they run leaving him to die, or worse betray him to hunters or police. It was his third time pulling this stunt since coming back home.
He sighed to himself thinking he would need to get new material.
His clothes still covered in gore and blood helped with making him look convincingly wounded, and he willed his facial scars to not heal along with adding a greusome looking chest gouge.
"Derek?" Her voice sounded panicked. She looked around the parking lot for anyone to help her or to see if anyone was watching?
Her heart rate didn't increase. It should have. Just like that night in the boiler room, Ms. Blake was too calm.
"Are you ...what can I do to help you?" She sounded confused and worried, but she didn't smell it.
"Home, please get me home." Derek struggled to say.
"Great, a good looking guy wants to take me home but he's a bleeding mess." She stuttered out.
Using fake nervousness and flirting to make Derek more comfortable, she helped Derek into her car and they drove in silence with only brief pauses for Derek to give directions. Once in the loft is where things would get tricky. Derek would be in a space he felt more territorial. He would see her as a threat and this seduction ruse would work a lot less if he bared his teeth at every lie the woman told. Pity he couldn't use Deaton's clinic like last time, but the Alpha pack was there.
He needed to calm down and use the skills he learned over the years. Skills that kept him alive. Skills Kate taught him by example.
"You don't have to stay" he pathetically said. Derek needed her to stay if he wanted to get more information out of her.
"I'm not leaving you like this." She replied putting a hand to his forehead.
"I don't have a fever." He offered with a smile he used to mask his wolf's discomfort at being touched by a potential enemy.
"Can you get sick? Do I need to get blankets? I'm not exactly sure what to do here."
"Talking to me helps. I need to feel safe to heal. I need you to trust me so I can trust you." Derek lied with his best big doe eyes in place. Living with Isaac gave him a perfect look to model his innocent expression on.
"Alright, what should I say?"
"Anything. Favorite potato chip?" Derek mentally slapped himself. Stiles talked about his favorite ways of eating potatoes the entire way to Deaton's office when he pulled this same stunt with him. Derek never thought so much could be said about curly fries and dill snack chips in such a short period, but it was Stiles so it made sense. It also didn't help to think about a kid that earned Derek's trust when he was in the middle of testing some one new.
"I used to love salt n' vinegar" she said widening her smile. "But I don't see how that will help you get better."
The security and safety in her voice gave Derek the confidence to keep going. He moaned a little too close to the dirty end of the sound scale while flexing his exposed chest muscles in false pain.
Her fingers ghosted over the scar. "At least let me clean this up for you." Her eyes lingered on his skin before quickly darting around the room, searching for the running water and a cloth no doubt.
Derek grabbed her wrist. "It's ok." Her picked up pulse finally gave away a little of whatever she hid.
___________
Three days later.
Getting out of the shower, Derek walked out to greet his guest. "Stiles. Is something..."
Derek did't get to ask if everything was alright because Stiles punched Derek square in face with a brick. It hurt, but he Could tell not all of Stiles weight was behind it. He'd have to talking to him about how to throw a punch and mean it when fighting a werewolf. Or not to throw one at all.
"There was no way I was going to hurt my hand by taking a swing at you, but you earned that smack in the head. How could you do that to her?" Stiles sounded disappointed in him as much as angry.
Ah, so this was about Ms. Blake. "I had to defend my pack. I had to know what her intentions were." Derek made excuses. They were good excuses that helped him sleep at night. Others did as much to him if not worse. Safety justified the means.
"She was a good teacher and now she's turned into another Harris. And all because you couldn't use your words and ask her what she wanted like a normal person."
"I'm not a normal person Stiles. I'm an alpha werewolf and she was invading my territory."
"So you sleep with her?!" Stiles smacked Derek again, this time on the shoulder and with his bare hand. "That's some twisted James Bond shit Derek. I know you're hot enough to do it, but don't you think of the consequences?"
"I never slept with you." Derek responds, because he had the chance to seduce Stiles many times over to gain his confidence but never did.
"Wow, I feel so honored to not be on the Derek dicked me over list. Wait, was this why you had your pack worried sick about you for those few hours, after the fight? Did you want time to 'interrogate' my English teacher? Fuck! Do you know we almost lost Scott because of how guilty he felt? Boyd almost wolfed out on the damn bus to get at Ethan! What the hell were you thinking!"
"Ms. Blake, or rather, the carrier of high elf blood, could have been the serial killer. She could have gone after any one of you. I had to know for sure."
Stiles scrubbed a hand over his face in frustration. "So you're going to fuck every threat to your pack? I'll go invest in some more of these." Stiles threw a condom at his feet. "Do you have no self respect? Does sex mean so little to you? Shouldn't it mean more than search and destroy potential enemies? Don't you ever want to love somebody? Or maybe wake up in someone's arms that you want to see again? Fuck, don't you ever want to actually enjoy it?"
Sex had never been any of those things for Derek and he's pretty sure it never would be. "No."